UNIVERSAL  SPIRITUALISM 


UNIVERSAL 
SPIRITUALISM 

^pfrit^Communion  m  au  3lse)3 
among  au  iSatioitjS 

By  IV.  J.  COLVILLE 

Author  of"  Old  and  New  Psychology;'  "  Spirit- 
ual Science  of  Health  and  Healing,"  *'  Life  and 
Power    From  Health  Within,"    Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


<g 


I 


I 


R.  F.  FENNO  &   COMPANY 
1 8  East  Seventeenth  Street  :  New  York 


'U 


EDUC. 

PSYCH, 

LIBRARY 


Copyright,  1906 

By 

R.   F.   FENNO   &  COMPANY 


Universal  Spiritualism 


Contents 


CHAP. 

Introduction      ...... 

Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

I.     The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity 

II.     Bird*s-Eye   View  of    Ancient    and    Modern 
Spiritual  Philosophy        .  .  .  . 

III.  Differing  Aspects    of  Spiritual  Philosophy 

— the  Righteous  Claims  of  Egoism  and  of 
Altruism  ..... 

IV.  The  Spiritual  Faith  of  Ancient  Egypt 

V.    '  Influence   of  Egyptian  Thought  on  Jewish 
Views  of  Immortality 

VI.     The  Jewish  Kabala — Its  Teachings  Concern 
ING  Immortality       .... 

VII.      Persian  Theories   of   the  Soul  and  Its  Des 
TINATION  ..... 

VIII.     Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life 

IX.     Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul  and  Its  Im 
mortality        ..... 

X.     Vedanta  Philosophy   .... 

XI.     Scandinavian  Beliefs  Concerning  the  Spirit 
UAL  Universe  ..... 

XII.     Etruscan  Views  of  the  Future  Life     . 

XIII.  Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan 

XIV.  Mohammedan    Views    of    the   Soul   and   Its 

Destiny  ..... 


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410526 


8. •'.*,•-'    '    '      Introduction 

of  rational  philosophic  Spiritualism  can  in  these  days  be 
upreared. 

Much  that  passes  for  religion  may  be  hypocrisy,  much 
that  is  dignified  with  the  name  of  science  may  be  but 
transitory  speculation,  yet  science  and  religion  live,  thrive 
and  grow  despite  all  mistakes  and  errors.  Likewise  does 
Spiritualism  outlive  and  triumph  over  every  outward  at- 
tack and  every  inward  weakness,  so  much  so  that  though  the 
very  word  has  often  been  considered  a  reproach,  not  a 
year  passes  but  a  fresh  list  of  noble  and  influential  names 
have  to  be  added  to  the  illustrious  company  of  Spiritualists. 
^  There  are  in  reality  but  three  conceivable  philosophies, 
viz .  :  Spiritualism,  Materialism,  Agnosticism.  Concerning 
the  latter,  it  may  well  be  said  in  the  words  of  the  learned  and 
thoughtful  Prof.  Felix  Adler,  of  Ethical  Culture  fame,  ''  Ag- 
nosticism is  no  finality. ' '  Materialism  is  practically  dead  in 
scientific  circles,  and  it  has  never  been  able  to  claim  such 
renowned  philosophers  as  Herbert  Spencer,  Thos.  Huxley 
or  any  others  among  the  exceptionally  brilliant  men  of 
science  and  of  letters  who  made  the  19th  century  illustrious. 

Spiritualism,  broadly  interpreted  and  divested  of  all  ab- 
normal excrescences,  is  the  only  philosophy  which  has  stood 
and  still  continues  to  stand  the  searching  test  of  impartial 
scrutiny.  Idle  is  it  to  point  to  the  farces  and  follies  per- 
petrated in  its  name,  these,  deplorable  though  they  may  be, 
detract  nothing  from  the  philosophy  itself  but  only  serve  to 
exhibit  the  pitiable  weaknesses  of  undeveloped  types  of  hu- 
man character.  No  sensible  person  rejects  gold  or  any 
precious  metal  because  it  is  taken  out  of  the  earth  mixed 
with  alloy.  Even  as  gold  is  sifted  from  all  which  accom- 
panies it  before  being  transferred  to  the  mint  for  coinage 
or  employed   in   the  manufacture  of  articles  of  worth  and 


Introduction  9 

beauty,  so  must  the  grandest,  noblest,  most  inspiring  and 
consoling  educative  system  of  philosophy  of  which  the  hu- 
man race  has  ever  conceived,  be  stripped  of  all  foreign 
matter  that  accompanies  it  before  being  transferred  to  its 
mint  for  coinage  or  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  articles 
of  mental  worth  and  beauty,  so  must  this  grandest,  noblest, 
most  inspiring  and  educating  system  of  philosophy  of 
which  the  human  race  has  ever  conceived,  be  stripped  of 
all  accretions  and  unbeautiful  surroundings  and  accepted 
only  in  so  far  as  it  commends  itself  to  reason  and  to  intui- 
tion, the  two  chief  guides  of  humanity. 

As  the  reader  journeys  in  the  following  chapters  from 
period  to  period,  and  from  clime  to  clime,  from  ancient 
Egypt  and  India  to  modern  Britain  and  America,  one  dom- 
inating conviction  must  lay  hold  upon  the  mind  of  every 
impartial  student  and  that  a  conviction  no  less  than  the 
stupendous  thought  that  the  human  race  has  sought  and 
found  convincing  evidences  of  its  immortality. 

The  great  importance  of  the  modern  Spiritualistic  move- 
ment, even  though  it  be  dated  only  from  1848,  is  too  vast 
to  be  estimated,  and  it  is  beyond  dispute  that  in  conse- 
quence of  marvelous  and  utterly  unexpected  occurrences  at 
Hydesville  in  New  York  State  and  elsewhere  in  America 
during  that  memorable  year,  and  in  the  momentous  years 
which  immediately  followed,  a  complete  revolution  was 
started  in  the  minds,  not  only  of  the  American,  but  very 
shortly  after,  of  European  populations. 

Liberal  religious  views  were  indeed  prevalent  in  many 
distinguished  circles  before  the  world  was  thrilled  by  the 
audacious  declaration  that  the  gates  were  not  only  ajar, 
but  in  many  instances  wide  open,  between  the  two  states 
of  existence  we  are  still  accustomed  to  call  two  worlds. 


lo  Introduction 

This  tremendous  affirmation  ought  not  to  have  surprised 
Bible  students  or  professing  Christians  of  any  denomina- 
tion, for  nothing  is  more  self-evident  than  that  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  in  common  with  all  other  venerated  Scriptures, 
distinctly  proclaim  the  constant  fact  of  the  intercommunion 
of  earth  with  spirit-spheres.  But  every  one  who  is  the 
least  acquainted  with  the  sad  tale  of  ecclesiastical  bigotry 
and  blindness  knows  that  organized  religious  parties  fought 
desperately  against  the  new  revelation,  thereby  greatly 
weakening  their  own  hold  upon  the  masses  and  laying  the 
foundation  for  vigorous  iconoclastic  onslaughts  upon  creeds 
and  churches  and  diverting  the  tide  of  inspiration  very 
largely  away  from  all  recognized  denominational  institu- 
tions. 

The  early  history  of  modern  Spiritualism  has  been  copi- 
ously recorded  in  the  standard  works  of  Emma  Hardinge 
Britten  and  other  faithful  chroniclers  of  the  trials,  hard- 
ships, defeats  and  victories  of  the  stalwart  pioneers  who 
often  literally  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  to  proclaim 
the  new  gospel  which  was  to  them  more  precious  than 
their  earthly  all.  The  work  of  the  magnificently  coura- 
geous men  and  women  who  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
Spiritualistic  propaganda  during  its  earlier  decades  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic  and  also  at  the  Antipodes,  can  never 
be  overestimated.  Some  of  those  zealous  champions  of 
spiritual  free  thought  may  have  been  at  times  over  intrepid 
and  occasionally  indiscreet,  but  they  did  their  work  heroic- 
ally, and  the  light  they  braved  everything  to  kindle  and 
to  sustain  will  not  easily  be  extinguished. 

In  later  years  other  movements,  not  Spiritualistic  in 
name,  have  attained  and  received  much  attention  and 
have  unquestionably  succeeded  to  a  large  extent  in  enlist- 


Introduction  1 1 

ing  the  sympathy  and  arousing  the  interest  of  many  intel- 
ligent persons  to  whom  the  name  of  Spiritualism  was  not 
attractive. 

The  Theosophical  Society  founded  in  New  York  in 
1875  and  started  by  prominent  Spiritualists, — for  such 
Col.  Olcott  and  Mme.  Blavatsky  undoubtedly  were — 
drifted  at  one  time  into  seeming  antagonism  to  the  cen- 
tral doctrine  of  Spirit  communion,  but  has  always  been  in 
reality  an  upholder  of  spiritual  philosophy  against  material- 
ism and  is  now,  in  the  persons  of  its  most  representative 
leaders,  throwing  much  light,  through  study  and  practice 
of  clairvoyance  in  particular,  upon  the  actual  condition  of 
the  Spirit  world  which  interpenetrates  as  well  as  encircles 
this  material  globe. 

The  popular  New  Thought  movement,  though  not 
avowedly  Spiritualistic  in  any  pronounced  degree,  has 
always  numbered  among  its  leading  exponents  distin- 
guished men  and  women  whose  public  writings  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  main  facts  for  which 
all  Spiritualists  are  steadfastly  contending.  The  chequered 
history  of  the  Spiritualistic  movement  all  over  the  world 
has  presented  many  bright  and  more  than  a  few  dark 
features  and  it  is  not  seemingly  possible  to  unify  all  Spirit- 
ualists or  to  bring  them  into  substantial  accord  any  further 
than  to  acknowledge  the  one  great  essential  of  spiritual 
intercommunion. 

It  is  not  necessarily  regrettable  that  no  uniformity  seems 
possible  on  anything  like  an  extensive  scale  because  it  is 
the  obvious  mission  of  the  great  modern  spiritual  revela- 
tion to  break  the  fetters  of  assumed  authority  and  set  the 
individual  spirit  free.  The  idiosyncrasies  of  many  indi- 
viduals and  the  dubious  character  of  much  alleged  phe- 


1 2  Introduction 

nomena,  together  with  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  many 
purported  spirit  communications,  continues  to  present  a 
series  of  serious  difficulties  in  the  path  of  many  conscien- 
tious enquirers  and  investigators,  and  with  the  rapidly 
spreading  acknowledgment  of  limitless  telepathy  the  old 
simple  confidence  in  direct  communion  with  our  departed 
friends  and  kindred  has  been  in  many  quarters  greatly 
shaken. 

The  writings  of  the  noted  Prof.  T.  J.  Hudson,  whose 
name  will  always  be  associated  with  the  "Two  minds" 
theory,  have  been  erroneously  construed  by  many  readers  as 
undermining  the  fact  of  Spirit  communion  when  in  reality 
no  evidences  of  telepathy  can  possibly  do  other  than 
strengthen  reasonable  confidence  therein.  The  enormous 
interest  taken  at  present  in  what  is  termed  Psychical  Re- 
search is  only  interest  in  Spiritualism  under  a  slightly 
different  name,  this  every  impartial  student  must  admit, 
especially  after  perusing  that  monumental  work  by  the 
famous  F.  W.  H.  Myers  entitled  ''Human  Personality — 
its  survival  of  bodily  death."  A  still  more  recent  work 
by  Prof.  Hyslop  of  Columbia  University,  entitled  ''  Science 
and  a  Future  Life,"  and  indeed  a  perfect  host  of  volumes 
by  more  or  less  distinguished  authors,  written  in  many 
different  languages  and  all  testifying  to  the  constantly 
accumulating  proofs  of  spirit  intercourse  demonstrated  in 
a  great  variety  of  ways  and  under  a  vast  variety  of  con- 
ditions, but  serve  to  further  illustrate  our  main  position. 

Though  the  old  theory  of  the  Satanic  origin  of  spirit 
communications  is  no  longer  preached  as  formerly,  there 
are  still  those  among  us  who  see  the  devil  in  everything 
which  seems  supernormal  that  does  not  conform  with  anti- 
quated, and  indeed  barbaric,  notions  of  the  unseen  uni- 


Introduction 


'3 


verse,  aud  apart  from  oid  school  theologians  who  continue 
to  employ  old-fashioned  terminology  there  are  quite  a 
considerable  number  of  modern  writers  who  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  descant  upon  the  perils  attending  mediumship  and 
the  dangerous  ground  upon  which  all  are  treading  who 
venture  to  seek  to  lift  up  the  veil  which  divides  mundane 
from  supra-mundane  existence. 

Tennyson's  warning  in  his  beautiful  lines  entitled  <'The 
Angel  Guest,"  a  choice  excerpt  from  **In  Memoriam," 
are  indeed  applicable  to  all  who  would  seek  to  peer  behind 
the  mystic  curtain  and  commune  with  beings  ordinarily 
invisible  from  the  earthly  standpoint.    The  poet  truly  sings  : 

"  How  pure  in  heart  and  sound  in  head 
With  what  divine  aft'ections  bold 
Should  be  the  man  whose  thoughts  would  hold 
An  hour's  communion  with  the  dead." 

These  stirring  lines,  and  the  three  verses  which  follow, 
were  sung  at  a  great  meeting  in  Brighton,  England's  most 
famous  seaside  resort,  on  the  evening  of  May  24,  1874, 
when  the  writer  of  these  pages,  then  an  inquisitive  child, 
was  attracted  to  an  "inspirational  oration"  delivered  by 
Mrs.  Cora  L.  V.  Richmond  (then  Mrs.  Tappan)  at  a  time 
when  Spiritualism  was  exciting  great  attention  in  Great 
Britain. 

That  wonderfully  gifted  speaker  in  some  mysterious  way, 
while  addressing  an  audience  of  1,500  people,  was  an  in- 
strument in  the  hands  of  the  unseen  for  opening  the  flood- 
gates of  illumination  for  this  curious  child,  who  was  imme- 
diately fascinated  by  the  grace  and  dignity  of  the  orator 
and  deeply  impressed  with  the  mighty  import  of  the  in- 
spired and  inspiring  message  delivered  so  impressively  in 
so  unique  a  manner.     Years  have  come  and  gone  and  the 


14  Introduction 

wondering  child  has  grown  to  be  a  widely  traveled  lecturer 
and  author,  but  never  unmindful  of  the  impetus  received 
on  that  ever-to-be-remembered  evening. 

In  the  autobiographical  narrative  which  the  writer  has 
been  importuned  to  incorporate  in  this  volume,  personal 
experiences  are  necessarily  introduced  to  illustrate  the 
propositions  which  it  is  desired  to  elucidate  and  to  unfold. 
It  has  been  almost  impossible  to  refer  the  reader  in  all 
cases  to  authorities  which  would  further  sustain  the  facts 
related  in  the  successive  chapters  of  this  book,  but  fnodera- 
tion  as  well  as  accuracy  of  statement  has  been  the  author's 
constant  aim,  and  though  conscious  of  many  defects  in 
style  and  limitations  in  subject  matter,  it  is  confidently 
hoped,  and  indeed  expected,  that  this  comparatively  hum- 
ble contribution  to  the  voluminous  literature  of  Spiritual- 
ism will  serve  at  least  the  useful  purpose  of  providing  at 
reasonable  price,  in  not  excessive  compass,  a  textbook  for 
enquirers  and  a  work  of  ready  reference  for  those  who 
have  neither  time  nor  opportunity  for  searching  massive 
records  when  desirous  of  taking  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
spiritual  conceptions  and  experiences  of  widely-scattered 
members  of  the  human  race. 

Lights  and  shadows  have  alike  been  dealt  with,  but  the 
tone  of  this  work  is  avowedly  and  intentionally  optimistic. 
To  liberalize  thought,  to  increase  fraternal  feeling,  to  re- 
lieve the  depression  which  overhangs  the  thought  of  pass- 
ing into  the  mysterious  **  unknown,"  and  most  of  all  to 
show  how  reasonable  it  is  to  have  confidence  in  human 
immortality,  have  been  among  the  prominent  objects  the 
author  has  held  constantly  in  view. 

W.  J.  COLVILLE. 

New  York,  igod. 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 


If  I  am  to  relate  faithfully,  even  in  barest  outline,  my 
experiences  with  "  unseen  helpers,"  I  must  go  back  to  my 
very  early  childhood,  when  my  '' mediumship  "  originally 
declared  itself.  I  was  practically  an  orphan  from  birth. 
My  mother  passed  to  spirit  life  in  my  infancy  and  my 
father  was  called  by  important  business  to  travel  in  lands 
remote  from  England,  where  I  was  left  in  charge  of  a 
guardian.  My  childhood  was  singularly  unchildlike,  as  I 
was  separated  from  children  altogether,  and  compelled  to 
associate  exclusively  with  persons  of  thoroughly  mature 
age. 

How  I  first  came  to  see  my  mother  clairvoyantly  I  do 
not  know,  but  I  distinctly  remember  becoming  vividly 
conscious  at  frequent  intervals  of  the  gentle,  loving  pres- 
ence of  a  beautiful  young  woman,  who  invariably  appeared 
to  my  vision  gracefully  attired  in  light  garments  of  singular 
beauty.  The  head  of  this  charming  lady  was  adorned 
with  golden  ringlets;  her  eyes  were  intensely  blue;  she 
was  tall  and  of  rather  slender  build,  and  manifested  many 
attributes  of  almost  ideal  womanhood.  I  cannot  recall  to 
mind  any  occasion  when  this  lady  spoke  to  me  as  one  ordi- 
nary human  being  on  earth  converses  with  another,  but  I 
distinctly  recollect  that  when  I  saw  her  most  plainly  and 
felt  her  presence  most  distinctly,  I  was  intensely  conscious 
of  information  flowing  into  me.     I  can  only  liken  my  ex- 

15 


i6        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

perience  to  some  memorable  statements  of  Swedenborg 
concerning  influx  of  knowledge  into  the  interiors  of  human 
understanding. 

I  should  probably  never  in  those  early  days  have  thought 
of  such  a  problem  as  clairvoyance,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
surprising  fact  that  what  I  saw  perfectly  other  people  did 
not  see  at  all.  I  was  first  led  to  realize  the  unusual  char- 
acter of  my  vision  when  I  mentioned  the  presence  of  the 
"beautiful  lady  in  white  "  to  two  persons  who  were  with 
me  when  I  saw  her  very  distinctly,  and  they  declared  that 
we  three  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  apartment.  The 
mystery  of  the  fourth  inmate  was  for  me  greatly  intensified 
when  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  other  two  persons,  besides 
her  and  myself,  could  pass  through  her  and  she  through 
them,  while  they  appeared  completely  unconscious  of  each 
other's  presence.  An  elderly  lady,  with  whom  I  was  liv- 
ing, who  was  a  devoted  Church  woman,  summed  up  all  my 
singular  visions,  when  I  related  them  to  her,  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  ''Well,  I  can't  account  for  it,  but  it  must 
be  the  work  of  either  God  or  Satan."  Though  not  many 
months  over  five  years  of  age  at  the  time  to  which  I  am 
now  referring,  I  had  already  heard  Satan  called  the  ''  father 
of  lies"  and  had  also  been  taught  that  truth  belonged  to 
God  and  came  from  heaven ;  so  my  youthful  intellect  was 
not  perturbed  with  dread  of  any  power  of  darkness,  as  I 
found  that  all  the  information  which  flowed  into  me  when 
this  beautiful  spiritual  being  manifested  to  me  was  correct 
in  every  particular.  I  was,  therefore,  quite  content  to  be- 
lieve, with  simple  faith  supported  by  reasoning,  that  my 
dear  mother  was  watching  over  me  as  a  guardian  spirit. 
I  often  heard  of  guardian  angels,  and  I  was  sometimes 
taken  to  a  children's  service  in  a  church  where  a  favorite 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        17 

hymn  before  the  catechising  began  with  the  following  in- 
vocation : 

"  Dear  angel  ever  at  my  side  ! 
How  loving  must  thou  be 
To  leave  thy  home  in  heaven  to  guard 
A  little  child  like  me." 

Instead  of  conjecturing  angels  as  well-nigh  incompre- 
hensible beings  belonging  to  an  order  in  the  creation  en- 
tirely different  from  ourselves,  I  rested  satisfied  with  the 
simple,  reasonable  conviction  that  the  messenger  from  un- 
seen spheres  who  watched  over  me  most  intimately,  was  the 
dear  mother  whose  physical  presence  had  been  withdrawn 
from  earth  long  before  I  had  reached  an  age  when  I  could 
have  consciously  appreciated  it.  I  do  not  forget  the 
strange  shock  I  felt  when  some  one  said  to  me :  *'  It  is  im- 
possible that  you  should  see  your  mother  ;  you  have  no 
mother;  she  is  dead."  Such  vulgar,  brutal  words  made 
no  other  impression  on  me  than  to  set  me  thinking  along 
psychic  lines,  far  more  often  pursued  by  little  children  than 
adults  generally  suppose. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  I  was  an  isolated  and 
often  a  lonely  child,  thrown  very  largely  upon  my  resources 
for  amusement  and  enjoyment.  This  circumstance  may 
suffice  to  suggest  instructive  thoughts  regarding  conditions 
singularly  favorable  to  mediumistic  development.  Is  me- 
diumship  a  gift  or  a  natural  endowment  ?  is  a  query  often 
raised.  To  answer  this  inquiry  it  is  surely  necessary  to  re- 
call the  two  distinct  senses  in  which  the  word  "  gift  "  is  com- 
monly employed.  We  speak  of  natural  gifts,  of  the  uni- 
versal gifts  of  God  to  humanity,  as  well  as  of  particular  be- 
stowments  vouchsafed  to  those  who  are  sometimes  segre- 


l8        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

gated  in  our  philosophy  from  the  '' common  herd,"  and  des- 
ignated a  ''  chosen  few."  Having  used  the  term  "  clairvoy- 
ance "  in  connection  with  my  own  earliest  spiritual  experi- 
ences, I  wish  to  define  it  in  ray  own  case  as  applying  to  ex- 
tended vision  of  three  distinctly  different,  though  closely 
allied,  varieties.  The  first  evidence  of  my  own  clear  vision, 
which  came  to  me  so  spontaneously  and  unexpectedly  that 
for  a  considerable  season  it  caused  me  no  astonishment 
whatever,  related  to  beholding  a  form  of  real,  consistent 
substantiality,  existing  on  another  plane  of  being  than  the 
one  usually  termed  terrestrial.  This  form  was  completely 
and  symmetrically  human  in  every  detail  of  outline,  and 
was  attired  in  artistic  dress,  not  foreign  to  ordinary  worldly 
convention,  but  vastly  more  beautiful  and  graceful  than 
the  customary  mortal  dress  fashionable  in  the  sixties  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  which  included  the  crinoline  and  the 
chignon.  The  second  evidence  of  clairvoyance  did  not 
refer  to  sight,  even  on  the  psychic  or  astral  plane,  as  sight 
is  ordinarily  understood,  but  to  mental  enlightenment  or  in- 
tellectual illumination,  and  this,  not  only  of  a  general  but 
also  of  a  particular  character,  as  the  knowledge  which  en- 
tered into  my  understanding  related  not  only  to  topics  of 
usual  information,  but  went  deeply  and  precisely  into 
manifold  details  of  private  family  history,  and  included 
many  revelations  which  brought  great  consternation  to  the 
hearers  when  I  reported  my  experiences,  seeing  that  the 
people  among  whom  I  was  being  reared  were  very  desirous 
of  hiding  from  me  many  facts  connected  with  my  parents 
of  which  my  spirit  mother  undoubtedly  wished  me  to  be- 
come aware.  The  third  feature  in  my  clairvoyance  was 
the  actual  predicting  of  coming  events,  and  I  use  the  term 
"coming"   in   the  precisest  possible  manner  for  the  very 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        19 

events  I  was  led  to  foretell  had,  in  many  instances,  actually 
occurred  in  one  sense,  and  were  on  their  way  to  occurring 
in  yet  another.       A  single  example  will  illustrate. 

My  grandmother's  sister  in  Lincolnshire  had  decided  to 
visit  Sussex,  but  had  not  communicated  her  intention  to 
any  one,  though  her  mind  was  fully  made  up.  Though  I 
had  never  seen  my  great -aunt,  and  had  rarely  heard  her 
mentioned,  I  distinctly  saw  her  in  the  house  where  I  was 
then  living,  and  accurately  described  her  appearance,  even 
to  the  strings  of  the  cap  which  she  actually  wore  a  few 
weeks  later  when  paying  her  sister  a  visit.  Two  questions 
naturally  arise  at  this  point :  First,  how  is  it  that  we  can 
see  people  who  may  be  thinking  of  us,  or  perhaps  only  of  a 
place  we  are  inhabiting,  when  they  are  not  consciously  or 
deliberately  projecting  their  thought,  or  an  astral  likeness 
of  themselves,  to  us  ?  Second,  how  is  it  that  we  see  articles 
of  wearing  apparel  which  those  persons  may  not  be  actually 
wearing  at  the  time  when  we  behold  them  ?  The  follow- 
ing reply  may  serve  to  elucidate,  at  least  in  part,  the  fore- 
going mystery.  When  Herbert  Spencer  many  years  ago 
criticised  somewhat  adversely  the  notion  of  clothing  as  per- 
taining to  the  spirit  world,  he  evidently  overlooked  a  very 
important  consideration,  to  the  effect  that  our  clothing  is  all 
mentally  designed  before  it  can  be  physically  confected. 
A  new  fashion  in  dress  is  impossible  except  as  an  outcome 
of  a  new  mental  concept  of  apparel.  Not  only  Sweden- 
borg,  but  Shakespeare  also,  clearly  illustrates  the  close  con- 
nection which  must  ever  logically  exist  between  the  wearer 
and  the  garment  worn  ;  and  in  no  case  do  we  find  the  sug- 
gestive doctrine  more  clearly  taught  by  inference  than  in 
the  play  of  *'  Hamlet,"  where  the  father  of  the  Prince  of 
Denmark  appears  in  spirit,  clad  in  armor,  at  the  very  time 


20        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

when  he  is  seeking  to  inspire  his  son  to  make  war  against 
an  uncle  who  has  incurred  the  fierce  displeasure  of  the  dis- 
carnate  king.  Not  only  do  we  clothe  ourselves  physically 
in  such  raiment  as  becomes  our  immediate  mental  state, 
but  we  often  unconsciously  supply,  gratuitously,  portraits 
of  ourselves  doing  things  we  intend  to  do,  things,  indeed, 
which  we  have  spiritually  already  done,  and  which  we  shall 
certainly  ultimate  materially  unless  our  plans  are  unexpect- 
edly frustrated.  It  generally  simplifies  the  mystery  of  prog- 
nostication if  we  do  but  consider  that  seership  is  a  faculty 
which  enables  a  seer  or  seeress  to  actually  behold  what  exists 
on  a  plane  of  ultimation  prior  to  the  physical. 

As  I  grew  from  childhood  to  rather  riper  age,  and  in  the 
meantime  attended  schools  and  became  interested  in  many 
external  pursuits  and  objects,  my  singularly  spontaneous 
mediumship  became  less  prominent,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  an  occasional  prophetic  dream  of  rare  lucidity, 
which  always  came  as  a  needed  warning,  I  gradually  drifted 
into  a  more  prosaic  state  of  life,  from  which  I  was  suddenly 
aroused  by  the  presence  of  the  world-renowned  Cora  L.  V. 
Richmond  (then  Mrs.  Tappan)  in  England  during  the 
seventies  of  the  last  century.  When  I  was  nearly  fourteen 
years  of  age,  and  a  member  of  a  church  choir,  Mrs.  Tap- 
pan  greatly  excited  the  population  of  Brighton,  where  I 
was  then  residing,  by  her  marvelous  discourses  and  poems, 
and  singularly  erudite  replies  to  all  kinds  of  questions, 
which  she  claimed  were  not  due  to  her  own  erudition,  of 
which  she  made  no  boast  and  to  which  she  laid  no  claim, 
but  to  the  action  through  her  instrumentality  of  a  band  of 
guides  who  were  ready  to  speak  through  her  whenever 
their  services  were  in  demand.  May  24th,  1874,  was,  in- 
deed, an  eventful  day  in  my  history,  for  though  my  public 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        21 

career  as  a  lecturer  and  globe-trotter  did  not  begin  till 
nearly  three  years  later,  it  was  on  the  evening  of  that  beau- 
tiful Whit-Sunday  that  I  experienced  the  first  thrill  of  con- 
sciousness that  it  was  my  principal  lifework  to  travel  nearly 
all  over  the  earth,  guided  by  unseen  but  not  unknown  in- 
spirers,  who  would  carry  me  safely  over  all  tempestuous 
oceans  and  protect  me  from  all  dangers  by  land  if  I  would 
but  be  faithful  to  the  mission  entrusted  to  me  by  wise  and 
kindly  helpers.  ^  I  have  always  greatly  disliked  the  word 
"control,"  and  I  dislike  it  still,  for  in  my  ears  it  savors  of 
coercion,  and  I  have  never  been  coerced  by  my  inspirers, 
who  have  ever  proved  themselves  faithful  teachers,  coun- 
selors, and  guides — veritable  *'  invisible  helpers,"  to  use 
Leadbeater's  felicitous  expression,  a  title  we  may  well  ap- 
ply to  those  numberless  assistants  who  render  multifold  serv- 
ices to  us  of  which  we  are  often  quite  unconscious,  but 
from  which  we  derive  inestimable  benefit. 

The  record  of  my  original  introduction  to  the  work  of 
inspirational  speaking  is  now  an  oft -told  tale ;  in  brief,  I 
may  sum  it  up  as  follows  :  When  I  was  walking  home 
after  greatly  enjoying  Mrs.  Tappan's  wonderful  eloquence, 
I  registered  a  vow  that  if  any  good  and  wise  intelligences 
in  the  unseen  state  would  inspire  me  as  they  were  wont  to 
inspire  the  marvelous  lady  who  styled  herself  their  ''in- 
strument," I  would  most  gladly  take  service  with  them  and 
go  whithersoever  their  counsels  led  me.  I  earnestly  de- 
sired and  confidently  expected  that  inspiration  would  come 
to  me  if  it  were  genuine  at  all,  and  come  it  did  that  very 
evening  and  within  an  hour  from  the  time  when  I  invoked 
it.  Had  no  obstacles  been  placed  in  my  way,  I  should 
have  darted  forth  meteorically  as  a  speaker  before  my  four- 
teenth birth  anniversary,  but  my  legal  guardian  refused  to 


22        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

grant  permission  until  I  was  at  least  two  years  older,  though 
she  did  not  prevent  my  occasionally  appearing  at  private 
gatherings,  nor  was  she  able  to  deprive  me  of  some  won- 
derful experiences  of  mesmeric  or  hypnotic  character, 
which  opened  my  eyes  in  my  early  teens  to  many  of  the 
marvels  of  psychology  which  are  now  demanding  and  receiv- 
ing attention  from  distinguished  savants  the  wide  world 
over. 

Hypnotism  and  its  dangers,  like  Spiritualism  and  its 
dangers,  is  now  being  discussed  at  every  turn,  and  I  am 
often  greatly  interested  to  hear  discussions  on  these  re- 
condite themes,  when  the  debaters  are  people  of  experi- 
ence, but  whose  experiences  have  been  largely  unlike  my 
own.  I  do  not  presume  to  settle  any  question  for  my 
neighbors,  I  merely  speak  in  the  first  person  singular  when 
I  declare  that  I  was  never  hypnotized  against  or  even  with- 
out the  full  consent  of  my  own  will ;  and  as  spiritualistic 
literature  abounds  with  references  to  the  virtual  identity  of 
hypnotic  influence  with  spirit  control,  I  deem  it  advisable 
to  bear  personal  testimony  in  this  connection.  Shortly 
after  my  discovery  that  I  could  speak  inspirationally,  and 
even  be  spoken  through  by  an  unseen  intelligence,  to 
whose  words,  uttered  through  my  lips,  I  could  attend  as  a 
quiet,  interested  listener,  1  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
brilliant  young  nobleman  who  was  both  an  operatic  singer 
and  a  practicing  psychologist.  This  young  ''star"  was 
introduced  to  me  as  desiring  to  conduct  some  delicate 
mesmeric  experiments  for  which  he  needed  the  services  of 
a  lucide,  or  natural  clairvoyant;  or  failing  to  discover 
any  one  who  would  entirely  answer  to  the  above  descrip- 
tion, he  considered  it  highly  probable  that  his  experimen- 
tation would  be  successful  if  he  could  meet  a  sensitive 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        23 

young  person  who  was  thoroughly  willing  to  yield  to  his 
suggestive  influence.  My  first  ejaculation  when  the  sub- 
ject was  broached  to  me  that  I  might  serve  for  the  experi- 
ments, was  '^  I  should  be  delighted,  and  feel  sure  they  will 
be  successful."  Though  all  the  experiments  were  con- 
ducted in  strict  privacy,  so  far  as  the  general  public  were 
concerned,  many  distinguished  persons  high  in  the  learned 
professions  took  active  part  in  many  of  the  most  satis- 
factory of  them.  It  is  not  usually  supposed,  at  least  by 
the  uninitiated  into  psychic  mysteries,  that  the  words 
passive  and  negative  are  quite  as  correctly  qualified  by  the 
terms  wilfully  and  willingly  as  are  positive  and  active. 
We  are  frequently  told  that  mediumship  is  impossible 
without  passivity,  and  such  is  doubtless  the  case,  but  vol- 
untary rather  than  involuntary  passivity  or  negativity  con- 
duces to  the  most  reliable  results.  Operator  and  subject 
are  terms  of  double  import,  but  such  terms  as  sender  and 
receiver  or  transmitter  and  recipient  are  clearly  not  open 
to  valid  objection,  seeing  that  they  in  no  way  imply 
enforced  surrender  of  one  individual  to  another.  During 
the  nearly  three  years  which  intervened  between  my  first 
insight  into  my  capabilities  as  an  inspired  lecturer  and  my 
debut  before  a  London  audience,  I  had  many  opportuni- 
ties for  witnessing  extraordinary  phenomena,  as  I  became 
well  acquainted  with  many  prominent  Spiritualists,  who 
treated  me  with  great  kindness  and  consideration  and 
placed  many  exceptional  advantages  at  my  disposal  for 
witnessing  manifestations  of  all  varieties.  Some  of  these 
appealed  strongly  to  me,  others  did  not.  I  had  many 
opportunities  for  sitting  in  circles  with  Williams,  Heme, 
Monck,  Eglinton,  and  other  extraordinary  mediums,  who, 
at  about  that  time,  were  either  in  the  inception  or  at  the 


24        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

zenith  of  their  fame.  Though  I  was  told  repeatedly  that 
I  was  a  physical  medium,  and  though  I  sat  in  many  seances 
where  tables  moved  and  furniture  in  general  behaved 
grotesquely,  I  never  knowingly  officiated  as  a  physical 
medium,  though  planchette  has  worked  for  me  repeatedly 
and  automatic  writing  has  been  often  with  me  quite  an 
every-day  occurrence.  During  the  greater  part  of  1877-8, 
I  was  privileged  to  investigate  the  evidences  of  phenomenal 
Spiritualism  all  over  England.  The  most  private  gather- 
ings were  open  to  me,  and  I  was  times  without  number 
privileged  to  sit  with  the  most  distinguished  mediums 
under  thoroughly  satisfactory  test  conditions ;  but  though 
/I  saw  enough  to  convince  me  a  thousand  times  over  that 
\some  mysterious  occult  force  was  operating,  and  the 
spiritualistic  hypothesis  alwaj^s  seemed  to  me  more  reason- 
able than  any  other,  I  do  not  think,  with  my  peculiar  and 
naturally  sceptical  cast  of  mind,  that  I  could  ever  have 
been  completely  convinced  of  the  truth  of  spirit-com- 
munion had  it  not  been  for  experiences  of  my  own  which 
absolutely  forced  me  as  a  rational  individual  to  accept  the 
only  sane  conclusion. 

When  I  first  took  the  platform  I  felt  very  much  as  I 
had  often  felt  in  more  private  places  when  voluntarily 
obeying  the  silently  expressed  dictation  of  the  talented 
psychologist  who  could  transmit  to  and  through  me  any 
information  he  desired  to  convey  when  I  was  in  a  suscep- 
tible condition ;  but  though  he  declared  that  I  was  perfectly 
his  *'  subject,"  and  I  was  quite  willing  to  be  such,  I  could 
not  be  induced  by  any  professional  mesmerist,  or  practic- 
ing physician,  who  was  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  hypnotic 
experiments,  to  receive  or  transmit  anything,  simply  be- 
cause I  did  not  choose  to  make  myself  passive  or  sus- 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        25 

ceptible.  I  remember  well  sitting  on  the  platform  in  old 
Doughty  Hall  (a  Masonic  edifice  no  longer  in  existence) 
on  Sunday  evening,  March  4th,  1877,  and  gazing  out  upon 
a  large  concourse  of  people  gathered  to  hear  the  "kitten 
orator,"  as  I  had  been  called  because  of  my  youth,  dis- 
course on  a  subject  to  be  selected  by  their  own  vote.  A 
hymn  was  sung  to  open  a  semi -religious  service,  and  then 
I  rose  and  offered  a  prayer,  the  words  of  which  formed 
themselves  in  my  mouth  without  forethought  or  conscious 
volition  of  my  own.  After  a  second  hymn  the  presiding 
officer — the  long  celebrated  James  Burns,  editor  of  the 
Medium  and  Daybreak — announced  in  my  hearing  that 
the  youthful  occupant  of  the  platform  was  prepared  to 
discourse  under  inspiration  on  any  theme  the  audience 
might  think  proper  to  select.  I  heard  this  without  the 
slightest  internal  trepidation.  I  had  become  tense,  callous, 
self-assured,  but  completely  confident  that  an  intelligence 
beyond  my  normal  own  would  certainly  render  me  entirely 
equal  to  the  occasion.  A  subject  was  quickly  decided 
upon  by  show  of  hands,  and  I  rose  to  lecture.  I  spoke 
unfalteringly  for  fully  an  hour,  and  resumed  my  seat  unex- 
cited  and  unfatigued.  A  third  hymn  was  sung,  and  then 
Mr.  Burns  called  upon  the  audience  to  mention  topics  for 
an  impromptu  poem.  Three  or  four  subjects  were  given, 
and  no  sooner  was  a  decision  reached  by  the  chairman  as 
to  which  topic  had  received  the  greatest  show  of  hands, 
than  I  rose  for  the  third  and  last  time  that  evening,  and 
heard  myself  reel  off  a  number  of  verses  as  easily  and 
fluently  as  though  I  liad  them  well  committed  to  memory, 
though  I  am  certain  they  were  nowhere  in  print,  and  I  was 
listening  to  them  for  the  first  time.  The  report  of  that 
memorable  meeting  created  a  great  sensation  those  many 


26        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

years  ago ;  but  events  crowd  thickly  upon  each  other  in 
these  days,  and  a  new  generation  has  risen  since  I  was  a 
''youthful  prodigy,"  ''one  of  the  marvels  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,"  and  much  else,  according  to  the  news- 
papers, which  I  have  long  since  forgotten. 

Immediately  after  my  appearance  in  London  I  was 
called  to  all  parts  of  England.  I  went  as  an  inexperienced 
child  to  places  rough  and  smooth,  aristocratic  and  un- 
couth, clean  and  dirty,  refined  and  vulgar,  religious  and 
atheistic ;  and  wherever  ^I  went  I  found  my  unseen 
prompters  ready  to  help  me  in  all  emergencies  and  to  pilot 
me  safely  over  many  difficult  and  unpleasant  places  from 
which  I  should  certainly  have  shrunk  had  I  seen  before- 
hand what  awaited  me.  During  the  nineteen  months  of 
my  touring  as  a  lecturer  in  England,  between  March,  1877, 
and  October,  1878,  I  certainly  saw  the  world  in  a  large 
number  of  its  varied  phases,  and  though  many  episodes  in 
my  career  during  that  eventful  period  were  extremely  en- 
joyable, as  I  met  kind  and  true  friends  almost  everywhere, 
I  could,  without  the  slightest  difficulty  or  exaggeration,  un- 
fold many  a  tale  which  might  amuse  or  startle  more  than 
it  would  edify  the  listeners.  My  constitution  was  not  con- 
sidered naturally  robust  and  I  had  to  encounter  many 
hardships  from  which  many  a  stronger  person  would  have 
fled  in  dismay,  but  though  I  cannot  say  that  I  quite  en- 
joyed all  the  harsher  features  of  my  travels  in  all  weathers 
to  all  sorts  of  places,  instead  of  succumbing  I  grew  steadily 
stronger  physically  as  well  as  mentally,  so  that  when  I  left 
England  for  America  near  the  close  of  October,  1878,  my 
constitution  was  quite  equal  to  endure  the  strain  of  a  sin- 
gularly tempestuous,  though  not  dangerous,  ocean  passage 
and  the  rigors  of  a  New  England  winter,  to  the  severity 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        27 

of  which  the  fickle  climate  of  Albion  had  never  subjected 
me.  I  well  remember  my  departure  from  Liverpool  for 
unknown  Boston  across  the  wide  Atlantic,  whither  I  was 
journeying  entirely  alone  save  for  the  clearly  distinguished 
presence  of  those  faithful  unseen  helpers  who  never  de- 
serted me. 

One  of  the  clearest  visions  of  my  life  attended  me  dur- 
ing the  night  prior  to  my  departure  from  Liverpool.  I  fell 
asleep  about  3  a.  m.,  apparently  as  a  result  of  fatigue  fol- 
lowing upon  intense  excitement,  but  my  seership  asserted 
itself  triumphantly  in  a  manner  which  I  was  soon  able  to 
verify,  even  to  the  minutest  detail.  I  saw  myself  stand- 
ing on  a  wide  platform  which  was  covered  with  thick  red 
carpet,  in  a  great  hall,  with  high  windows  on  either  side. 
There  was  an  organ  in  a  choir  gallery  over  the  entrance 
to  this  audience  room,  and  surmounting  the  rostrum  on 
which  I  stood  was  a  fine  bust  of  the  great  New  England 
preacher,  the  famous  Theodore  Parker.  In  that  hall  I  saw 
a  very  fine  audience  numbering  from  600  to  800  persons ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly  the  dignified  figure  of 
Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles,  whom  I  had  met  in  London  some 
months  previously,  loomed  large  before  me.  The  vision 
impressed  itself  indelibly  on  the  tablet  of  my  memory ; 
then  I  fell  into  a  dreamless  slumber,  which  continued  until 
I  was  called  to  partake  of  my  last  breakfast  in  England  for 
many  a  year  to  come.  On  reaching  America  I  found  that 
not  only  had  my  advent  been  heralded  in  the  columns  of 
the  Banner  of  Lights  the  oldest  spiritualistic  paper  in  the 
world,  but  the  friend  who  met  me  at  the  landing  stage 
(Robert  Cooper,  of  Eastbourne,  England,  who  was  then  a 
prominent  worker  in  America)  informed  me  that  Dr. 
Peebles  had  just  completed  a  lecture  engagement  in  Parker 


28       Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

Meaiorial  Hall,  and  that  he  had  announced  me  as  his  suc- 
cessor, the  committee  having  accepted  me  for  that  large 
and  prominent  position  on  the  good  doctor's  kindly  rec- 
ommendation, though  I  was  only  eighteen  years  of  age  and 
entirely  unknown  to  the  directors  of  the  Parker  Hall  lec- 
tureship. No  sooner  had  I  landed  in  America  than  I  was 
quite  at  home  on  what  was  in  no  sense  to  me  a  foreign  soil, 
for  there  I  heard  the  same  language  spoken,  and,  with 
minor  exceptions  of  no  definite  importance,  soon  discov- 
ered that  England  and  America  are  at  least  first  cousins, 
if  not  still  nearer  relatives.  In  Boston  my  work  quickly 
grew  apace ;  then  I  was  called  to  New  York,  Philadelphia^ 
and  other  mighty  cities,  not  excepting  Chicago,  where  I 
filled  Mrs.  Cora  L.  V.  Richmond's  platform  for  an  ex- 
tended period,  while  she  was  filling  an  engagement  in  Bos- 
ton. Nearly  five  busy  years  had  sped  their  course  when,  in 
1883,  I  found  myself  again  in  England,  taking  up  afresh 
the  work  which  I  never  laid  down,  but  only  temporarily 
suspended  when  I  was  led  to  cross  the  ocean  and  become 
a  prominent  worker  in  America.  In  1884  I  returned  to 
the  United  States,  and  in  1885  again  revisited  England. 
During  those  years  I  accomplished  a  large  amount  of  lit- 
erary work  in  addition  to  extensive  traveling  and  constant 
lecturing.  In  1886  I  visited  California  for  the  first  time, 
and  spent  five  delightful  months  on  the  sunny  Pacific  slope, 
in  which  charming  country  I  addressed  daily  audiences 
often  numbering  many  hundred  persons,  and  saw  wonder- 
ful results  from  the  practice  of  mental  healing,  of  which  I 
had  by  that  time  become,  and  of  which  I  still  am,  an  un- 
compromising, though  I  trust  not  a  fanatical,  advocate  and 
exponent. 

At  the  close  of  a  lecture  which  I  delivered  on  a  camp 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        29 

ground  bordering  on  Lake  Merritt,  adjacent  to  the  city  of 
Oakland,  California,  a  lady  who  had  long  been  a  cripple 
handed  her  crutches  to  her  husband,  walked  home,  and 
did  not  resume  the  use  of  artificial  support  subsequently. 
This  **  miracle  "  of  healing  took  place  unconsciously  to  me, 
for  I  did  not  know  there  was  a  crippled  woman  in  the  as- 
sembly. I  do  not  claim  any  part  in  the  accomplishment 
of  this  marvel  further  than  to  declare  that  I  was  led  to  say 
before  I  concluded  my  exposition  of  the  philosophy  of 
healing,  '*  You  can  use  your  limbs  if  you  determine  to  use 
them,  no  matter  how  long  they  may  have  failed  to  serve 
you."  I  had  no  idea  that  I  was  addressing  anybody  in 
particular,  and  no  member  of  the  audience  was  more 
greatly  astonished  than  myself  when  the  ''miracle"  oc- 
curred. My  explanation  of  it  is  twofold ;  I  firmly  believe 
that  there  was  an  influence  at  work  with  that  afflicted 
woman  beyond  my  consciousness,  and  I  feel  also  con- 
vinced that  through  her  own  auto-suggestive  act  she  greatly 
facilitated  her  recovery.  This  case  is  thoroughly  authen- 
ticated, and  is  now  in  print  in  the  supplement  to  my  old 
standard  work,  "The  Spiritual  Science  of  Health  and 
Healing,"  under  the  heading,  '-'Testimony  of  Mrs.  Lily 
Bothwell." 

During  that  marvelous  summer  of  1886,  which  was  in 
some  respects  the  most  astounding  in  my  whole  career,  I 
received  pressing  invitations  to  visit  Australia,  from  which 
far-distant  land  cablegrams  came  to  me  in  quick  succession. 
Nine  years  previously,  at  the  very  outset  of  my  public  work, 
I  had  been  assured  by  my  unseen  preceptors  that  there  was 
a  great  work  for  me  to  accomplish  at  the  Antipodes  after  I 
had  crossed  America,  and  I  may  here  mention  that  1  had 
daringly  announced  in  a  London  paper,  in   1885,  that  I 


30        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Col v ilk 

was  going  to  California  in  consequence  of  a  communica- 
tion to  that  effect  having  been  written  through  my  hand 
when  I  had  no  earthly  prospect  of  pursuing  my  westward 
way  further  than  New  York  and  Boston.  My  disappoint- 
ment was  singularly  keen  when  obstacles  arose,  mountain 
high,  to  forbid  my  leaving  America  on  the  completion  of 
my  first  season  in  California.  Duty  called  me  back  to 
Boston,  and  reluctantly  I  obeyed  its  call,  with  heavy  heart 
and  doubtful  mind,  for  I  was  beginning  to  suspect  that  my 
unseen  directors  had  been  in  some  way  thwarted  in  their 
plans  for  me,  1  having  been  solemnly  assured  by  them  that 
I  had  a  mission  to  fulfil  in  Australasia ;  and  now  after  a 
way  had  plainly  opened,  the  door  had  been  ruthlessly 
closed  and  by  no  voluntary  act  of  mine.  On  the  way  back 
across  the  American  continent,  when  I  paused  to  lecture  in 
St.  Louis,  a  message  came  to  me  with  unmistakable  clear- 
ness, ''You  are  going  to  Australia  and  New  Zealand  but 
not  just  yet !  plans  are  ripening  but  not  yet  matured ;  have 
perfect  confidence  in  your  inspirers,  for  though  there  is  a 
seeming  delay  there  has  been  no  hitch  in  the  arrangements." 
''But  when  shall  I  go?"  I  inquired  eagerly.  "We  can- 
not tell  you  just  now ;  you  would  think  the  time  too  long 
did  you  foreknow  its  duration  ;  but  rest  content ;  you  are 
going,  and  you  will  fill  a  large  place  while  you  reside  there." 
With  that  assurance  I  had  to  remain  content,  for  I  could 
receive  nothing  further  concerning  the  Southern  Hemis- 
phere though  many  directions  were  given  me  concerning 
my  continuous  work  in  the  Northern.  For  ten  years  I  saw 
nothing  of  England,  and  it  was  through  the  joint  instru- 
mentality of  Lady  Caithness,  Duchesse  de  Pomar,  in  Paris, 
and  the  special  excursion  of  the  World's  Women's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union  from  New  York,  in  June,  1895, 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        31 

that  I  revisited  Europe  after  ten  years'  unbroken  residence 
in  America.  Those  ten  years  had  been  very  busy  and 
highly  eventful  ones  ;  my  singular  experiences  during  their 
highly  checkered  course  would  fill  many  a  bulky  volume. 
I  had  scoured  America  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, and  had  met  with  warm  receptions  and  enthusiastic 
audiences  everywhere,  though  let  no  one  imagine  that  a 
prominent  public  life  means  constant  resting  on  a  bed  of 
roses;  roses  abound  but  thorns  are  often  their  intimate 
neighbors.  I  had  produced  a  number  of  books,  edited 
several  periodicals,  and  contributed  many  hundreds  of  arti- 
cles to  magazines,  besides  having  written  thousands  of  let- 
ters to  newspapers,  in  addition  to  musical  work,  before  I 
again  set  foot  in  England  after  my  departure  in  1885. 

What  first  led  me  to  turn  my  attention  back  to  Europe 
during  the  winter  of  1894  was  a  psychic  or  telepathic  in- 
cident well  worth  repeating,  though  it  has  been  previously 
recorded.  I  well  remember  December  8th,  1894.  On 
that  day,  between  2:30  fair  and  3  p.  m.,  I  was  seated  at 
a  desk  in  New  York  writing  an  article  for  a  periodical 
which  demanded  copy  at  short  notice.  I  was  scribbling 
away  at  full  speed,  writing  "against  time"  as  literary 
hacks  describe  the  process,  when  I  was  suddenly  arrested 
by  a  vision  of  Lady  Caithness,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for 
over  nine  years,  seated  at  an  escritoire  in  a  sumptuously 
furnished  boudoir,  the  most  conspicuous  feature  of  which 
was  a  magnificent  painting  covering  nearly  the  whole  of 
one  side  of  the  wall.  This  painting,  which  I  saw  dis- 
tinctly in  my  vision,  represented  ''Jacob's  Ladder,"  and  I 
remember  being  particularly  impressed  with  the  singular 
beauty  of  the  faces  of  the  angels.  Lady  Caithness  was 
elaborately  dressed,   and   engaged   in  writing  to  me;    it 


32        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

seemed  as  though  I  could  see  ink  falling  from  her  pen  on 
to  the  paper,  while  she  informed  me  of  many  interesting 
events  connected  with  the  erection  of  her  ducal  palace, 
"Holyrood,"  to  which  she  had  recently  moved  from  the 
fine  old  house  in  an  older  quarter  of  Paris,  where  she  had 
hospitably  entertained  me  and  where  I  had  held  several 
conferences  during  1884-5.  The  letter  she  was  then 
writing  embodied  the  request  that  I  should  without  delay 
contribute  an  article  for  a  periodical  she  was  then  editing, 
and  it  also  expressed  a  fervent  hope  that  I  should  see  my 
way  clear  to  accept  her  offer  of  an  engagement  to  deliver 
a  course  of  lectures  at  ''Holyrood"  during  the  ensuing 
June.  For  nearly  thirty  minutes  this  vision  continued  with 
me,  and  then,  before  the  letter  appeared  finished,  it  sud- 
denly vanished,  and  I  resumed  my  interrupted  article.  I 
went  to  Boston  for  Christmas,  and  while  there,  on  Decem- 
ber 24th,  I  received,  among  other  letters  from  New  York, 
the  identical  letter  from  Lady  Caithness,  dated  *'  Paris, 
December  8th,"  which  I  had  beheld  in  my  extremely 
vivid  vision.  In  the  course  of  the  letter  I  learned  that  it 
was  indited  between  7:30  and  8:00  p.  m.,  Paris  time, 
which  is  five  hours  ahead  of  New  York,  and  therefore  the 
time  coincidence  was  as  nearly  exact  as  it  well  could  be. 

I  have  been  repeatedly  asked  to  describe  the  difference 
between  telepathic  and  spiritual  messages,  and  I  frankly 
confess  that  I  have  rarely  been  able  to  clearly  distinguish 
between  them.  And  this  statement  suffices  to  introduce 
a  consideration  which  is  in  my  opinion  a  matter  of  great 
importance.  Take,  for  example,  Thomson  Jay  Hudson's 
much-discussed  theory  of  two  minds  and  two  memories. 
Hudson  avers  that  the  subjective  mind  is  the  sole  seat  of 
the  telepathic  faculty,  and  in  his  three  celebrated  books, 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        33 

"The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,"  "A  Scientific  Dem- 
onstration of  the  Future  Life,"  and  *'The  Divine  Pedigree 
of  Man,"  he  industriously  undertakes  to  prove  that,  though 
the  objective  mind  with  its  memory  may  perish  with  the 
decease  of  the  physical  organism,  the  subjective  mind  with 
lits  memory  continues  to  live  on  in  the  life  of  immortality. 
If  this  premiss  is  sound,  then  Hudson's  conclusion,  as  put 
forth  in  his  curious  article  (February,  1902)  in  the  Era, 
a  well-known  American  monthly,  is  quite  unwarranted ; 
and  it  is  the  height  of  absurdity  on  his  part  to  declare 
that  Spiritualists  are  ''fighting  in  the  last  ditch,"  because 
recent  experiments  in  the  ample  field  of  psychical  dis- 
covery have  abundantly  proved  the  rehability  of  just  such 
telepathy  as  Hudson  and  many  others  intelligently  vouch 
for.  My  own  experiences  in  numberless  instances  have 
completely  satisfied  me  that  in  nine  out  of  any  average  ten 
instances  when  psychic  communion  between  friends  can 
be  clearly  demonstrated,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  discrimi- 
nate exactly  between  a  message  received  from  a  communi- 
cant on  earth  and  from  one  who  has  passed  to  the  other 
side  of  existence.  What,  indeed,  is  that  ''other  side" 
but  the  side  to  which  telepathy  is  indigenous  ?  And  can 
we  afford  to  be  sure  that  when  we  are  functioning  tele- 
pathically  we  are  not  behaving  just  as  we  should  continue 
to  behave  were  we  suddenly  divested  of  our  material  envel- 
opes ?  If  the  physical  frame  be  but  a  sheath  or  vehicle 
of  the  abiding  entity,  which  is  the  true  individual,  then 
all  these  fascinating  evidences  of  thought  transference,  or 
mental  telegraphy  or  telephony,  accumulating  everywhere, 
are  but  so  many  convincing  proofs  of  the  reality  of  our 
spiritual  nature  in  the  here  and  now,  which  will  prove 
continuous  in  the  hereafter  and  the  future.     Evidences  of 


34        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

psychic  presence  and  spiritual  guidance  having  attended 
my  steps  from  infancy,  I  cannot  speciaHze  any  particular 
season  when  I  have  enjoyed  the  greatest  number  of  dis- 
tinct proofs  of  super-terrestrial  guidance,  but  such  have 
always  been  most  distinct  and  multiple  when  the  need  for 
them  has  been  greatest. 

I  will  now  select,  almost  at  random,  a  few  notably 
striking  instances  of  warning,  guidance,  and  simply  inter- 
esting seership,  which  stand  forth  prominently  in  my  recol- 
lection as  my  thoughts  revert  to  days  gone  by. 

Once  in  California,  when  I  had  arranged  to  lecture  in  a 
theatre  in  Los  Angeles  while  I  was  yet  in  San  Francisco,  I 
purchased  a  ticket  and  secured  a  berth  on  a  steamer  leav- 
ing on  a  Thursday,  and  due  at  San  Pedro,  the  port  of 
Los  Angeles,  by  noon  next  Saturday.  It  was  summer 
weather  and  the  coast  steamers  were  almost  invariably 
punctual  to  schedule  time.  Feeling  perfectly  sure  that  I 
should  reach  Los  Angeles  at  least  twenty-four  hours  before 
I  needed  to  appear  in  the  theatre,  I  felt  no  apprehension, 
after  securing  my  tickets,  as  to  fulfilling  my  engagement, 
and  therefore  I  was  greatly  surprised  when,  while  walking 
up  Market  Street,  I  heard  a  voice  saying  distinctly  beside 
me,  '-'Change  your  ticket;  go  by  train:  boat  will  not 
arrive  till  Monday."  At  first  I  paid  no  attention  to  this 
strange  admonition,  and  was  simply  perplexed  to  account 
for  its  origin ;  but  after  it  had  been  twice  repeated  I  re- 
solved to  run  no  risk  of  disregarding  a  valuable  counsel, 
and  I  therefore  returned  to  the  office  where  I  had  secured 
my  passage  and  changed  my  tickets  from  boat  to  rail, 
despite  the  positive  declaration  of  the  booking  agent  that 
the  boats  were  always  on  time,  and  that  I  could  rely  on 
meeting  my  engagement  if  I  adhered  to  my  first  intention. 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        35" 

Having  procured  a  railway  ticket  in  compliance  with  the 
urgent  request  of  the  unseen  monitor,  I  mentally  asked, 
''What  will  cause  the  delay?"  to  which  I  received  an 
answer,  clairaudiently,  with  great  distinctness,  ''Accident 
to  propeller ;  no  danger,  but  vessel  will  have  to  return  for 
repairs;  it  will  arrive  safely  on  Monday."  On  arrival  in 
Los  Angeles  on  the  Saturday  morning,  friends  remonstrated 
with  me  for  having  forfeited  a  pleasant  water  journey  at 
a  season  when  boats  were  far  preferable  to  trains  in  that 
vicinity ;  but  I  insisted  that  as  I  was  announced  to  deliver 
two  lectures  on  the  following  day  it  was  imperatively  neces- 
sary for  me  to  arrive  before  the  steamer,  which  I  was 
certain  would  be  belated.  Saturday  and  Sunday  both 
passed  and  no  steamer  arrived.  I  addressed  two  great 
audiences  before  the  boat  finally  got  in  on  the  Monday 
morning,  telling  a  tale  of  broken  propeller  and  return  to 
port  of  departure  for  repairs. 

Another  incident  of  quite  a  different  character,  but  none 
the  less  phenomenal,  even  though  less  practically  useful, 
concerned  an  acquaintance  I  formed  in  London  in  1897, 
during  a  course  of  private  midnight  seances  I  was  privi- 
leged to  attend  at  which  conditions  were  exceptionally  fine. 
To  accommodate  the  several  professionals  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  circle,  we  assembled  twice  a  week  at  midnight 
and  continued  our  sittings  till  from  2  to  3  a.  m.  Our  chief 
focus  of  attraction  was  a  huge  crystal  placed  in  the  centre 
of  a  large  library  table.  The  crystal  was  as  large  as  an 
ordinary  globe  for  containing  goldfish,  and  into  this  bril- 
liant object  we  all  quietly  but  intently  gazed,  with  a  view 
to  increasing  concentratedness  of  thought  and  vision. 
After  we  had  become  susceptible  to  psychic  vision  we  let 
our  eyes  close  if  they  seemed  so  disposed,  and  we  described 


36        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

whatever  came  before  us.  Among  a  multiplicity  of  telling 
incidents  connected  with  that  circle,  I  remember  describ- 
ing accurately  scenes  then  being  enacted  in  a  house  in 
Brighton  occupied  by  the  parents  and  other  relatives  of  a 
young  army  officer  whose  regiment  was  soon  afterwards 
ordered  to  India.  Some  months  later,  when  this  gentle- 
man was  in  Calcutta  and  I  in  New  York,  I  saw  him  as 
plainly  as  though  he  were  physically  beside  me,  and  on  the 
occasion  of  his  birthday,  when  some  friends  presented  him 
with  a  handsome  pair  of  ivory-backed  military  hair  brushes 
on  which  his  monogram  was  richly  chased  in  blue  and 
gold,  I  saw  those  articles  as  plainly  as  though  he  and  I  had 
been  actually  in  a  room  together,  inspecting  the  birthday 
presents.  A  letter  which  came  to  me  from  him  a  few 
weeks  later  described  those  brushes  precisely  and  contained 
the  words,  *'I  am  sure  you  are  receiving  a  telepathic  des- 
patch from  me  at  this  instant." 

Though  I  have  narratives  to  relate  which  would  fill  many 
a  volume,  all  illustrative  of  the  great  question  of  psychic 
intercourse  between  friends  yet  on  earth  and  those  who 
have  *' passed  over,"  as  well  as  manifold  descriptions  of 
most  convincing  telepathy  where  both  parties  have  been 
incarnate,  I  must  reserve  for  future  opportunities  the  nar- 
ration of  other  striking  incidents.  But  now  that  I  have 
rounded  out  nearly  thirty  years  of  public  service,  I 
feel  it  a  solemn  duty  as  well  as  a  high  privilege  to  bear 
unequivocal  testimony  to  the  always  beneficial  effect  which 
mediumship  such  as  I  have  developed  has  had  on  me  from 
all  standpoints.  Mentally  and  physically  I  owe  immensely 
much  to  those  very  endowments  and  experiences  which 
mistaken  people  imagine  are  weakening  to  mind  and  body. 
That  there  are  dangers  and  drawbacks  I  do  not  deny,  but 


Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville        37 

through  all  my  varied  and  protracted  experiences  on  and 
off  the  platform,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I 
have  invariably  found  that  the  directions  given  me  from 
/unseen  helpers  have  been  sound,  elevating,  and  truthful  to 
'  the  letter  in  all  particulars ;  while  the  telepathic  incidents, 
at  which  I  have  scarcely  more  than  hinted,  have  been  al- 
j  ways  interesting,  never  mischievous,  and  invariably  calcu- 
i  lated  to  throw  bright  light  on  many  a  mystic  problem. 
During  the  nearly  two  years  which  I  spent  south  of 
the  Equator,  I  still  pursued  my  way  unflaggingly  and  un- 
tiringly in  all  varieties  of  climate  and  in  a  great  variety  of 
surroundings.  I  owe  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  friends, 
seen  and  unseen,  for  the  many  tokens  of  their  care  and 
kindness  which  have  brightened  all  my  journeyings  and 
rendered  possible  of  accomplishment  the  widely  extended 
mission  which  took  me  to  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 
Adelaide,  Melbourne,  Sydney,  Brisbane,  Newcastle,  and 
many  smaller  places  in  great  Australia,  I  shall  ever  feel 
united  with  as  centres  of  work  which  I  know  has  already 
borne  good  fruit  in  numerous  ways.  Auckland,  Welling- 
ton, and  Christchurch  in  picturesque  New  Zealand  will  al- 
ways remain  equally  sacred  in  my  memory.  During  all 
my  Antipodean  wanderings  I  found  my  psychic  faculties 
fully  as  clear  and  as  much  in  evidence  as  in  other  lands 
where  the  Southern  Cross  is  an  unseen  constellation.  I 
am  now  assured  that  my  traveling  days  are  not  yet  over, 
and  that  I  still  have  oceans  to  cross,  and  continents  to 
traverse,  before  I  can  honorably  retire  from  active  service, 
if  such  retirement  shall  ever  be  my  portion.  The  dangers 
of  Spiritualism  are  in  my  judgment  greatly  overrated, 
while  its  blessings  are  often  minimized  ;  for  though  I  have 
been  since  1890  a  member  of  the  Theosophical  Society, 


38        Autobiography  of  W.  J.  Colville 

and  my  acquaintance  and  connection  with  the  Mental 
Science  movement  is  a  matter  of  pubUc  knowledge,  I  wih.h 
publicly,  emphatically,  and  irrevocably  to  bear  my  testi- 
mony to  the  irrefutable  truth  of  spirit  communion.  With 
the  peculiar  theories  advocated  by  some  Spiritualists  I  have 
no  sympathy ;  and  I  dare  say  there  are  tricksy  spirits,  as 
well  as  unreliable  people  on  this  side  the  mystic  border  ; 
but  though  I  must  remain  the  ''free  lance  "  I  have  ever 
been,  and  work  wherever  I  am  called  to  operate,  and  there- 
fore cannot  pose  as  exclusively  a  Spiritualist,  inclusively  I 
am  as  thoroughgoing  an  advocate  of  Spiritualism  as  any 
of  its  most  enthusiastic  representatives.  I  owe  nothing  to 
developing  circles,  and  comparatively  little  to  spiritualistic 
literature,  or  to  phenomenal  mediumship  of  an  objective 
type  ;  therefore  my  assurance  of  Spiritualism's  central  claim 
can  never  be  weakened  by  any  controversy  which  may  rage 
concerning  dubious  phenomena.  I  have  seen  the  unmis- 
takably genuine,  the  ambiguous,  and  the  fraudulent,  and 
having  seen  so  much  I  am  prepared  to  testify  to  this  effect, 
irrevocably — that  Spiritualism  is  based  on  truth,  and  no 
matter  how  many  barnacles  may  have  to  be  swept  from 
such  institutions  as  are  devoted  to  its  special  advocacy,  the 
twentieth  century  must  and  will  witness  a  spiritual  reveal- 
ing for  which  all  the  wonders  of  the  nineteenth,  stupen- 
dous though  they  have  been,  have  only  paved  the  way. 


Universal  Spiritualism 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  QUESTION  OF  SPIRIT  IDENTITY 

The  vexed  question  of  spirit  identity  is  one  which  is  al- 
ways liable  to  occasion  considerable  discussion,  chiefly  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  what  appears  thoroughly  conclusive 
to  some  types  of  mind  seems  inconclusive  to  others.  It  is, 
therefore,  necessary  to  approach  this  immebse  and  vital 
subject  not  only  entirely  free  from  prejudice,  but  also  for- 
tified with  clear  understanding  of  the  actual  worth  of  the 
various  theories  now  submitted  for  popular  acceptance  as 
substitutes  for  what  is  often  termed  the  spiritualistic  hy- 
pothesis. 

We  are  often  asked  whether  it  is  possible  for  us  to  ex- 
plain clearly  how  we  discriminate  between  telepathic  and 
spiritistic  messages.  Frankly,  we  admit  that  it  is  often 
quite  beyond  our  present  ability  to  discriminate  completely 
between  them,  but  this  lack  of  ability  always  to  discrimi- 
nate, far  from  weakening  the  testimony  favorable  to  simple 
Spiritualism,  only  necessitates  a  reconsideration  of  the  en- 
tire problem  of  our  human  constitution  before  we  attempt 
to  formulate  an  inclusive  theory  to  explain  the  entire  bulk 
of  our  diversified  psychic  experiences.  A  very  large  num- 
ber of  thoughtful  readers  have  been  much  impressed  by 
Thomson  Jay  Hudson's    five    celebrated    books:   ''The 

39 


40  Universal  Spiritualism 

Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,"  "  A  Scientific  Demonstration 
of  the  Future  Life,"  ''The  Divine  Pedigree  of  Man," 
'*  The  Law  of  Mental  Medicine,"  and  *'The  Evolution  of 
the  Soul,"  in  which  the  hypothesis  known  as  the  dual 
theory  of  the  human  mind  is  very  fully  and  forcibly  ex- 
pounded. Professor  Hudson,  in  common  with  many  other 
able  writers,  labors  to  some  extent  under  a  burden  of  pre- 
conception adverse  to  Spiritualism,  which  often  mars  the 
beauty  and  consistency  of  his  otherwise  excellent  literary 
work.  /The  evidence  for  telepathy  which  this  author  puts 
forward  is  very  strong  and  in  some  instances  unimpeach- 
able, but  the  alleged  evidence  against  Spiritualism  is 
rationally  inadmissible,  because  it  is  of  a  singularly  nega- 
tive and  supposititious  character.  We  must  face  our  prob- 
lem bravely,  not  attempting  to  disguise  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  past  several  years  much  evidence  has  accumulated 
in  favor  of  simple  telepathy  which  some  over-enthusiastic 
Spiritualists  may  have  been  liable  to  undervalue  because 
it  has  been  erroneously  supposed  that,  if  accepted,  it  would 
tend  against  the  interests  of  the  cause  which  is  nearest  of 
all  to  their  hearts.  A  better  understanding  of  telepathy, 
and  a  fuller  comprehension  of  what  is  logically  involved  in 
Hudson's  "two  minds"  theory,  may  serve  to  set  many 
doubters  at  rest.  We  must  not  forget  that  the  title  of 
Hudson's  second  book  is  utterly  misleading  and  an  entire 
misnomer,  if  the  evidences  of  telepathy  prove  communion 
between  friends  on  earth  but  throw  no  light  on  the  condi- 
tion of  those  who  have  ''  crossed  the  border."  /  The  author 
persistently  claims  that  of  our  two  minds,  which  he  per- 
sistently designates  objective  and  subjective,  the  former 
(perishes  at  the  time  of  physical  dissolution,  but  the  latter 
/lives  on  and   finds  a  sphere  for  fuller  and  more  perfect 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         41 

functioning  than  it  ever  enjoyed  on  earth.  ;  This  theory 
accounts  for  telepathy  as  a  sort  of  foretaste  of  the  method 
of  communion  between  friendly  entities  which  will  prevail 
unceasingly  in  the  future  life.  The  only  flaw  that  we  have 
been  able  to  detect  in  Hudson's  chain  of  reasoning  is  the 
poor  opinion  he  seems  to  entertain  of  the  moral  integrity 
of  the  subjective  mind,  coupled  with  the  utterly  founda- 
tionless  assertion  that  overwhelming  evidence  of  unre- 
stricted telepathy  will  drive  Spiritualists,  ere  long,  even  out 
of  that  ''last  ditch"  in  which  they  are  now  desperately 
fighting  (according  to  Hudson)  to  save  a  lost  cause  and 
rescue  a  forlorn  hope. 

Reasonable  identification  of  telepathy  with  direct  spirit- 
communion,  instead  of  introducing  a  new  perplexity  and 
further  complicating  an  already  complicated  situation,  in- 
troduces us  for  the  first  time  to  an  orderly,  harmonious, 
and  easily  comprehended  interpretation  of  many  analogous 
facts  and  parallel  experiences  which  have  long  perplexed 
the  average  student  of  psychic  phenomena,  though  there 
have  always  been  singularly  luminous  exponents  of  mental 
and  spiritual  science  and  philosophy,  who  have  gone  a 
long  distance  on  the  road  which  must  lead  eventually  to 
universal  understanding  of  man  as  a  spiritual  being. 

We  have  frequently  been  asked  to  define  clearly  wherein 
consists  the  difference  between  a  message  received  from  a 
friend  yet  on  earth,  and  a  similar  communication  from  one 
who  has  ''passed  over."  Spiritualistic  literature  has 
largely  been  encumbered  with  two  oft-repeated  phrases, 
"spirit  return"  and  "spirits  coming  back  to  earth." 
These  phrases  are  to  a  large  extent  misleading,  for,  though 
there  are  instances  where  such  language  may  accurately 
and  adequately  describe  the  nature  of  certain  manifesta- 


42  Universal  Spiritualism 

lions,  such  expressions  do  not  by  any  means  correctly 
serve  to  describe  the  actual  experiences  of  the  great  ma- 
jority of  seers  and  seeresses  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 
Intromission  to  the  spiritual  state  is  a  phrase  full  of  deep 
significance,  and,  were  it  used  more  frequently,  it  would 
serve  to  elucidate  many  a  problem  of  clairvoyance,  clair- 
audience,  clairsentience,  and  psychometry.  Professors 
Denton  and  Buchanan,  in  their  learned  dissertations  con- 
cerning psychometry,  illustrated  by  numerous  recitals  of 
personal  experience,  have  insisted  that  a  true  psychometer 
perceives  the  aura  of  an  object,  and  can  at  times  distinctly 
see  into  the  spirit-world  and  become  consciously  en  rap- 
port with  denizens  thereof.  Such  quickened  perception 
may  fairly  be  considered  as  in  some  degree  an  anticipation 
of  the  means  of  intercourse  we  shall  enjoy  one  with 
another  when  we  have  bade  farewell  to  our  robes  of  flesh. 
We  may  surely  claim  that  if  we  are  called  upon  to  iden- 
tify those  intelligent  beings  with  whom  we  are  in  commu- 
nication, we  must  apply  the  same  laws  of  evidence  to  this 
matter  as  to  questions  of  individual  identification  when 
only  mundane  matters  are  involved.  To  identify  a  fellow- 
being  in  any  world  is  not  always  easy,  and  indeed  it  often 
is  found  to  be  extremely  difficult  when  we  rely  solely  on 
outward  tests.  '^The  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau,  but 
the  voice  is  the  voice  of  Jacob  "  is  a  vivid  Scriptural  in- 
stance of  the  extreme  difficulty  experienced  by  an  ancient 
patriarch  in  deciding  which  of  his  two  sons  was  actually 
in  his  presence.  The  blindness  of  Isaac  is  easily  typical 
of  the  condition  in  which  most  people  are  found  when 
some  sort  of  deception  is  successfully  practiced  upon  them. 
Evidences  of  two  kinds  are  presented  together.  One  set 
of  evidences  appeal  to  feeling,  the  other  to  intelligence. 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         43 

We  judge  people  very  often  by  outward  appearances  which 
we  subsequently  find  to  have  been  altogether  deceptive, 
and  if  it  be  admitted  in  any  degree  that  there  are  deceiv- 
ing spirits  who  sometimes  visit  us,  we  are  obviously  placed 
in  precisely  the  same  position  with  reference  to  them  as 
with  regard  to  persons  yet  on  earth  who  play  us  false  be- 
cause we  are  open  to  deception.  The  difficulties  attending 
spirit  identification  are  not  necessarily  greater  than  those 
surrounding  the  identity  of  persons  who  are  yet  encased  in 
mortal  garments. 

No  purely  external  tests  are  always  valid.  Indeed,  to 
place  extreme  reliance  upon  such  alone  is  to  encourage 
swindling,  and  play  into  the  hands  of  forgers  who  are 
usually  very  capable  of  simulating  perfectly  the  outward 
garb  of  those  they  seek  to  personate.  Testimonials,  refer- 
ences, and  letters  of  introduction  constitute  no  infallible 
criteria,  as  these  may  all  be  counterfeit  or  stolen.  The 
only  sure  way  to  identify  any  one  absolutely  is  by  culti- 
vating psychic  perceptiveness,  and  this  is  more  apt  to  be 
strongly  developed  in  highly  sensitive  persons  than  in  any 
others.  Deception  is,  however,  less  likely  to  be  practiced 
on  the  spiritual  than  on  the  material  side  of  existence,  be- 
cause the  motive  to  deceive  is  far  less  strong.  Expectation 
of  worldly  gain  urges  most  deceivers  on  earth  to  ply  their 
nefarious  vocation,  and  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  at 
least  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  deception  would  vanish  from 
the  earth  if  no  financial  or  other  ulterior  gain  could  accrue 
from  it.  To  palm  oneself  off  as  another  would  be  object- 
less folly  in  which  very  few  people  would  care  to  indulge 
did  they  not  think  they  saw  in  such  deception  a  means 
for  self-enrichment  or  aggrandizement. 

It  may  with  some  fairness  be  assumed  that  when  com- 


44  Universal  Spiritualism 

municating  intelligences  who  display  only  very  meagre  in- 
telligence profess  to  be  very  celebrated  and  illustrious  per- 
sonages, they  may  be  hankering  for  the  incense  of  adula- 
tion, but  when  no  great  names  are  given  and  no  pretentious 
claims  are  made,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  reason  could  be 
fairly  given  for  simply  stupid  masquerading  or  deliberate 
misrepresentation  of  any  sort.  We  know  from  experience 
that  auto-suggestion  on  the  part  of  the  alleged  recipient 
of  a  spiritual  communication  may  account  for  some  in- 
stances of  falsification,  especially  when  such  self-deception 
tends  largely  to  self-glorification  or  the  gratifying  of  per- 
sonal vanity.  A  great  drawback  to  untainted  spirit-com- 
munion is  the  prejudice  and  vanity  of  many  sensitives,  but 
this  very  foolishness  on  their  part  sometimes  serves  to  re- 
veal an  aspect  of  truth  which  is  frequently  neglected,  viz., 
that  there  may  be  perfect  sincerity  and  frankness  on  the 
side  of  the  unseen  communicator,  while  the  person  to 
whom  the  communication  is  made  may  be  the  sole  sug- 
gester  of  the  deceptive  element. 

A  lady  in  one  of  the  Southern  States  of  America  de- 
clared that  she  was  in  direct  communion  with  George 
Washington,  the  first  President  of  the  United  States  ;  but 
her  friends  as  a  rule  laughed  at  her  claim,  because  by 
means  of  automatic  writing  through  the  lady's  hand,  and 
by  means  of  trance  speaking  through  her  lips,  <' George 
Washington  "  expressed  himself  most  ungrammatically  and 
in  negro  dialect.  On  a  notable  occasion  when  "George 
Washington"  was  speaking  through  this  lady's  medium- 
ship,  he  was  distinctly  seen  by  a  fine  clairvoyant  who  had 
been  invited  to  a  seance,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ad- 
dress this  seeress  described  what  she  had  witnessed  during 
its  delivery,  which  was  the  presence  of  a  very  decided 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         45 

African  of  Ethiopian  tint  and  cast  of  feature,  and  who  ap- 
peared strongly  attached  to  the  lady  through  whose  me- 
diumship  he  had  been  able  to  deliver  a  lengthy  message. 
On  being  requested  to  describe  all  she  saw,  the  seeress 
went  on  to  give  particulars  of  a  venerable  old  servant  who 
had  been  named  ''  George  Washington,"  who  had  been  a 
faithful  retainer  of  the  family  prior  to  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  issued  in  1865,  and  had  in  that  year  steadily 
refused  to  accept  his  freedom,  as  he  dearly  loved  the  old 
estate  and  was  devotedly  attached  to  his  master  and  mis- 
tress, parents  of  the  lady  through  whom  he  was  then  able 
to  communicate  and  whom  he  had  often  nursed  during  her 
earliest  girlhood,  ere  he  passed  to  spirit  life,  when  she  was 
not  over  eight  years  of  age.  That  simple  incident  served 
to  explain  the  entire  problem,  and  it  afforded  a  thoroughly 
rational  explanation  of  a  phenomenon  belonging  to  a  class, 
by  no  means  uncommon  in  America,  which  have  led  to 
denunciations  of  fraud  where  none  existed — theories  of 
wicked  personating  spirits,  and  many  other  vagaries  of  un- 
balanced judgment — to  say  nothing  of  the  would-be  clever 
remark  made  by  people  who  were  more  "smart"  than 
wise,  that  it  must  be  a  terrible  thing  to  die  if  in  our  post 
mortem  condition  we  so  quickly  and  sadly  deteriorate. 
An  instance  like  the  foregoing  will  bear  thorough  sifting, 
and  it  is  surely  much  easier  to  explain  such  an  instance  in 
the  light  of  direct  spirit  communion  than  by  straining  an 
auto-suggestive  or  telepathic  hypothesis  to  the  breaking 
point  to  invent  an  improbable,  in  place  of  a  probable,  in- 
terpretation. Had  the  lady  referred  to  suggested  the  mat- 
ter to  herself  she  would  certainly  have  been  fairly  gram- 
matical, as  she  was  a  comparatively  well-educated  woman, 
and  not  being  a  negress  she  would  not  have  clothed  an 


46  Universal  Spiritualism 

imaginary  message  from  George  Washington,  as  she  con- 
ceived of  him,  in  negro  dialect.  Admitting  telepathy, 
mental  telegraphy,  or  telephony,  or  aught  else  that  is  in 
any  measure  psychical,  nothing  can  well  be  more  likely 
than  that  a  good  old  negro  who  had  been  for  many  years 
a  faithful  servant  to  the  family  residing  on  that  particular 
estate,  should  seek  an  avenue  of  communion  with  it 
through  the  agency  of  a  member  to  whom  he  had  been 
greatly  attached  just  before  he  passed  into  the  realm  of 
spirit. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  many  spirits  leave  the  earth  and 
all  pertaining  to  it,  very  shortly  after  the  demise  of  the 
physical  body,  while  others  remain  closely  connected  with 
the  scenes  of  their  earth  existence,  not  because  they  are 
earth-bound  in  the  sense  of  being  unhappy  creatures  who 
cannot,  on  account  of  their  sensual  vices,  rise  above  the 
mundane  level,  but  because  their  affections  still  cling  to 
persons  and  places  with  which  they  have  enjoyed  pleasing 
associations  up  to  the  latest  moment  of  their  terrestrial  ex- 
istence. »  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  as  well  as  Swedenborg, 
and  many  other  gifted  seers,  have  said  much  concerning 
the  many  spheres  in  this  solar  system  encircling  the  various 
planets,  which  have  often  been  numbered  from  one  to 
seven,  and  then  again  divided  and  subdivided  into  circles 
within  circles,  like  wheels  within  wheels  in  Ezekiel's  vi- 
sions ;  and  those  who  have  become  strongly  attracted  to  such 
teaching — and  their  name  is  legion — have  brought  forward 
the  revelations  of  these  prophets  to  disavow  the  declaration, 
made  from  a  somewhat  different  standpoint,  that  multitudes 
of  spirits  cannot  return  to  earth  as  they  have  not  yet  taken 
their  departure  from  this  planet's  immediate  atmosphere, 
or  even  from  the  exact  localities  where  a  large  portion  of 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         47 

their  earthly  days  were  spent  in  work  or  amusements  in 
which  they  took  a  decided  interest. 

When  indulging  in  personal  reminiscences,  I  often  narrate 
an  instance  of  what  seems  to  me  clear  evidence  of  spirit 
identity.  When  I  was  in  Austraha,  in  1 900-1,  I  fre- 
quently employed  the  services  of  a  bright,  enterprising 
young  man,  who  was  an  excellent  typist,  and  to  whom  I 
dictated  portions  of  several  books  and  numerous  magazine 
articles.  Before  taking  my  last  earthly  farewell  of  this 
young  gentleman,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  New- 
Guinea,  whither  he  went  to  occupy  a  post  of  trust  and  in- 
fluence, he  said  to  me  that  he  hoped  when  I  returned  to 
England  he  might  accompany  me  on  the  ocean,  as  he 
much  desired,  though  by  birth  an  Australian,  to  visit  the 
Mother  Country,  which,  though  12,000  miles  distant,  is 
invariably  called  "home"  by  Australasians.  My  reply 
was  that  though  I  could  not  definitely  foresee  my  own 
plans  for  the  near  future,  and  could,  therefore,  promise 
nothing,  I  held  myself  in  full  readiness  to  fall  in  with  his 
wishes  should  opportunity  occur  to  favor  the  carrying  out 
of  the  project.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  New  Guinea  in 
full  possession  of  health,  and  seemingly  of  vigorous  con- 
stitution, he  caught  the  local  fever,  and  in  three  days  he 
had  made  his  exit  from  the  mortal  body.  I  cannot  say 
that  he  was  very  frequently  in  my  thoughts,  or  that  his  loss 
would  seem  to  me  irreparable ;  still  there  was  a  link  of 
sympathy  between  us  which  evidently  made  it  possible  for 
him  to  manifest  his  presence  to  me  on  more  than  one  oc- 
casion during  three  distinct  stages  of  my  voyage  from  Syd- 
ney, via  New  Zealand  and  across  America,  to  England. 
The  first  time  he  attempted  to  make  himself  known  to  me 
was  between  Sydney  and  Auckland,  but  as  I  was  seldom 


48  Universal  Spiritualism 

alone  during  the  four  brief  days  that  voyage  occupied  1 
cannot  remember  any  very  definite  evidence  of  his  identity, 
though  I  was  fully  conscious  of  his  presence.  The  second 
visit  which  I  know  he  made  me  was  en  route  to  California, 
when  I  had  a  large  cabin  to  myself  on  the  So7W7na  and 
not  being  much  acquainted  with  any  of  my  fellow  passen- 
gers I  had  many  opportunities  for  quiet  silence  and  unin- 
terrupted meditation.  I  well  remember  distinctly  feeling 
the  presence  of  my  young  friend  with  me,  just  as  I  had 
known  him  in  Australia,  and  so  real  and  tangible  was  the 
sense  of  that  presence  that  it  seemed  exactly  as  though 
another  person  was  sharing  the  cabin  with  me.  I  was 
quite  awake,  perfectly  calm,  and  fully  able  to  determine 
all  he  said  to  me,  and  yet  I  am  certain  I  heard  nothing 
with  my  external  ears  except  the  motion  of  the  vessel  pass- 
ing through  the  water.  Not  only  did  I  feel,  or  sense,  his 
presence,  but  he  gave  me  information  concerning  his  situa- 
tion in  New  Guinea,  and  the  circumstances  of  his  life 
there,  which  I  subsequently  learned,  through  corre- 
spondence with  a  mutual  acquaintance,  were  correct  in 
every  detail.  On  the  third  occasion,  when  I  as  strongly 
realized  his  presence,  I  was  nearing  Plymouth  on  my  voy- 
age from  New  York  in  February,  1902,  and  on  that  occa- 
sion he  gave  me  information  concerning  his  present  state 
and  occupation,  and  told  me  several  things  in  regard  to  my 
own  near  future,  which  have  since  been  fully  verified. 
Such  definite,  direct,  and  truthful  communications  cer- 
tainly do  not  proceed  from  lying  spirits,  nor  do  they  em- 
anate from  my  own  sub-self,  whose  reputation  for  veracity 
and  sanity  I  am  naturally  interested  to  maintain ;  and 
when  1  speak  a  good  word  for  m.y  own  subjective  mind — 
which  is  to  live  hereafter  when  my  objective  mind  has  per- 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         49 

ished — I  stand  up  equally  for  the  corresponding  sub-selves 
or  subjective  minds  of  all  my  neighbors.  It  is  immeas- 
urably more  rational  to  maintain  a  reasonable  spiritualistic 
version  of  such  facts  as  I  have  just  related  than  to  invent, 
and  uphold  at  all  hazard,  a  contradictory  and  extremely 
complicated  theory  of  the  mysteries  of  telepathy,  which 
serves  to  befog  far  more  than  to  enlighten  rational  inquir- 
ers. In  seeking  to  reply  definitely  to  the  very  natural  in- 
quiry whether  there  is  any  marked  difference  in  appearance 
between  the  psychic,  or  astral,  body  of  a  person  yet  on 
earth,  and  of  one  who  has  parted  company  with  earthly 
raiments,  I  venture  to  suggest  that  only  when  the  factor  of 
clairvoyance  is  added  to  telepathy  is  this  clearly  deter- 
minable. Usually  the  appearance  to  psychic  vision  of  one 
who  has  left  the  flesh  is  more  ethereal  than  that  of  one  who 
is  still  connected  with  it,  but  when  only  a  sense  of  pres- 
ence is  realized,  and  intelligence  is  inwardly  communicated, 
it  is  often  impossible  to  decide  whether  the  despatch  in 
question  is  being  received  from  a  friend  yet  on  earth  or 
from  one  who  is  more  frequently  designated  a  ''  spirit." 

Unnecessary  difficulties  in  the  way  of  rational  spiritual 
identification  are  created  by  many  persons  who  evidently 
mistake  identity  which  pertains  to  abiding  individuality  for 
the  most  external  incidences  of  ever-fluctuating  exterior 
personality.  Such  questions  are  often  raised  as,  ' '  If  you 
see  my  father  can  you  describe  his  appearance  ?  does  he 
wear  a  beard?  how  is  he  dressed  ?  "  and  much  else  of  the 
same  almost  ridiculous  character.  A  little  sober  reflection 
must  convince  the  veriest  tyro  that  such  questions,  an- 
swered one  way  or  another,  cannot  determine  identity. 
We  all  know  that  fashions  alter  and  habits  change  with 
wonderful  rapidity,  and  it  is  by  no  means  difficult  for  a 


50  Universal  Spiritualism 

man  to  remove  a  full  beard  in  a  few  moments,  or  let  one 
grow  in  a  few  weeks,  thereby  completely  altering  one 
aspect  of  his  appearance.  Black  hair  easily  turns  white, 
stout  persons  grow  thin,  and  slender  persons  become  stout, 
very  frequently,  while  changes  wrought  by  passing  years 
and  varying  emotions  frequently  suffice  to  render  old  pho- 
tographs, once  speaking  likenesses,  no  longer  discernible, 
unless  to  the  acutest  students  of  physiognomy.  It  is,  how- 
ever, continually  declared  that  clairvoyants  see  our  spirit 
friends  as  they  were  when  we  last  beheld  them  or  as  they 
appeared  when  we  were  most  intimately  associated  with 
them.  And  such  testimony,  founded  as  it  often  is  on  actual 
fact,  needs  to  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  other  knowl- 
edge than  that  obtainable  by  simple  and  often  mysterious 
clairvoyance.  Astral  pictures  are  often  beheld  in  the  air 
of  old  houses,  where  certain  people  have  lived  long  periods, 
and  to  which  they  have  become  greatly  attached,  and 
these  psychic  photographs  are  often  mistaken  for  the  actual 
presence  of  departed  spirits  by  persons  who  rely  on  sight 
as  evidence  apart  from  feeling  or  manifest  intelligence.  A 
fact  in  my  own  experience  may  serve  to  illustrate  two 
features  of  this  portion  of  the  subject  of  spirit  identity. 

Some  years  ago  I  was  sojourning  in  an  old  country 
house  which  had  been  the  abiding  place  of  a  single  family 
ever  since  its  erection.  The  room  assigned  me  as  a  sleep- 
ing apartment  had,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  been  for  many 
years  the  special  working  and  reading  room  of  a  maiden 
aunt  who  had  been  quite  a  second  mother  to  the  family. 
In  that  room  she  had  spent  a  great  part  of  her  time  during 
her  latest  years  on  earth,  and  one  of  her  favorite  occupa- 
tions was  knitting  stockings  by  the  fire.  For  four  nights  in 
succession,  during  my  occupancy  of  that  room,  did  I  see 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         51 

that  quiet  elderly  lady,  with  knitting  in  her  hands,  seated 
before  a  fire  in  the  grate,  which  was  at  that  season  of  the 
year  filled  with  a  summer  ornament.  At  first  I  thought  I 
must  be  actually  in  communion  with  the  kindly,  placid 
dame,  and  that  she  might  have  a  message  to  convey 
through  me  to  some  member  of  the  household ;  but,  con- 
centrate my  thoughts  and  attention  intently  as  I  could 
upon  the  vision,  I  could  detect  no  animation,  nor  could  I 
receive  even  the  faintest  intimation  of  intelligence.  The 
people  with  whom  I  was  residing  were  not  at  all  averse  to 
Spiritualism,  and  when  I  told  them  exactly  what  I  had 
seen  four  nights  in  succession  in  that  particular  bedroom, 
they  all  agreed  that  it  was  an  exact  description  of  their 
aunt,  even  to  the  smooth  bands  of  brown  front  hair,  and 
the  cap  with  lilac  satin  ribbons  tied  under  the  chin ;  but 
they,  in  common  with  myself,  wondered  why,  if  I  could 
see  their  aunt  so  clearly,  I  never  saw  her  move  and  could 
obtain  no  impression  of  her  intelligence.  On  the  fifth 
night  of  my  occupancy  of  that  apartment  I  experienced  a 
totally  diff'erent  sensation  in  connection  with  the  same 
apparition,  which  I  again  beheld  stationary  and  unrespon- 
sive as  before ;  but  on  this  occasion,  hovering  over  the 
astral  picture  I  beheld  a  radiant,  youthful  form  bearing  a 
certain  family  resemblance  to  the  abiding  simulacrum,  but 
instinct  with  the  fire  and  energy  of  active  life  and  oper- 
atmg  intelligence.  Contemporaneously  with  this  new  addi- 
tional experience,  information  clearly  flowed  into  some 
receptacle  of  my  consciousness,  causing  me  to  become 
aware  that  the  original  of  the  portrait  desired  her  nieces 
and  nephews  to  find  in  her  old  writing  desk  certain  papers 
she  had  written  long  ago  and  which  she  desired  should  be 
revised,    edited,    and   published.     Following   the   minute 


52  Universal  Spiritualism 

directions  given  me  by  this  guiding  intelligence,  I  accom- 
panied several  members  of  the  family  to  a  lumber  room  in 
which  many  discarded  articles  of  furniture  had  long  been 
stored ;  and  there  among  them  stood  an  ancient  escritoire, 
in  which  we  found  a  completed  story  setting  forth  a  roman- 
tic and  highly  edifying  history  of  marvelous  episodes  in 
what  the  world  would  doubtless  have  looked  upon  as  a 
secluded  and  uneventful  career.  After  this  startling  con- 
firmation of  the  veracity  of  my  vision,  we  formed  a  private 
family  circle  for  further  investigation,  and  thereat,  by 
means  of  automatic  writing,  supplemented  by  clairvoyance, 
we  verified  many  extraordinary  statements  made  by  this 
living  relative  of  the  family,  who  assured  us  that  she  was 
no  longer  sitting  by  a  fire  engaged  in  knitting,  but  most 
actively  employed  in  spiritual  occupations,  which  did  not, 
however,  alienate  her  in  the  least  from  her  old  associates 
but,  on  the  contrary,  kept  her  in  close  vital  touch  with  all 
of  them,  though  in  a  subtler  and  more  ethereal  manner 
than  before  she  had  quitted  the  material  frame. 

Another  interesting  experience  of  my  own  dates  back 
to  the  autumn  of  1899,  shortly  before  my  first  visit  to 
Australia.  I  had  long  known  Mrs.  Emma  Hardinge 
Britten,  but  my  first  interview  with  her  was  in  1877,  at  a 
lecture  delivered  in  Manchester,  when  she  was  a  middle- 
aged  woman,  dressed  in  much  the  same  style  as  she  con- 
tinued to  adopt  till  she  finally  withdrew  from  the  public 
platform.  Since  her  passing  to  spirit  life,  this  earnest 
worker  has  occasionally  made  herself  distinctly  known  to 
me,  both  on  and  off  the  platform,  and  in  November,  1899, 
I  distinctly  saw,  in  connection  with  a  most  forceful  real- 
ization of  her  close  proximity,  the  Hkeness  of  a  radiant 
maiden  with  light  golden  curls,  somewhat  resembling  the 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         53 

earliest  pictures  of  Mrs.  Richmond  when  she  was  Cora 
Hatch,  but  in  no  way  suggesting  Mrs.  Britten  to  me  by  the 
appearance.  I  never  could  have  understood  that  vision 
had  I  not  visited  Mrs.  Wilkinson  (Mrs.  Britten's  sister), 
about  a  month  later,  and,  while  her  guest  in  Manchester, 
been  shown  a  picture  taken  many  years  ago,  representing 
Emma  Hardinge  in  youthful  costume  as  ''Queen  of  the 
Fairies."  This  picture  represents  the  young  lady  who 
afterwards  became  Mrs.  Britten  with  flaxen  ringlets,  and 
in  every  way  precisely  as  she  showed  herself  to  me  on  the 
occasion  of  my  vision.  Had  I  suggested  to  myself  a 
similitude  of  Mrs.  Britten,  I  should  certainly  have  con- 
jured up  from  the  depths  of  memory  a  likeness  of  her  as  I 
had  known  her;  and  when  I  interrogated  her  spiritually 
through  the  mediumship  of  automatic  writing,  subsequent 
to  beholding  the  portrait  at  Mrs.  Wilkinson's,  the  follow- 
ing message  was  communicated  :  ''I  knew  you  were  going 
to  my  sister's ;  therefore,  I  wished  to  give  you  a  singular 
test  of  my  identity,  which  I  find  I  have  succeeded  in 
doing ;  and  there  is  another  reason  why  I  showed  myself 
to  you  thus — I  wished  to  impress  you  with  the  knowledge 
that  I  can  now  show  myself  in  various  forms  to  my  friends, 
and  my  present  appearance  far  more  closely  resembles  that 
of  my  youth  on  earth  than  that  of  my  later  age." 

''  How  do  we  know  each  other  here  ?  "  is  quite  as  grave 
a  question  as  ''Shall  we  know  each  other  there?"  I  re- 
member some  years  ago,  in  New  York,  being  asked  by  a 
mutual  friend  to  meet  a  gentleman  who  was  returning  to 
America  after  ten  years'  residence  in  Germany,  and  who 
was  described  to  me  from  a  portrait  as  a  slender  man  with 
jet  black  hair.  And  such  he  doubtless  was  when  he  em- 
barked for  Germany,  but  during  the  decade  of  years  he 


54  Universal  Spiritualism 

had  spent  in  Europe,  he  had  grown  decidedly  corpulent 
and  his  hair  had  become  positively  white.  I  nevertheless 
knew  him  by  instinct,  though  I  had  never  met  him  pre- 
viously, and  I  accosted  him  by  name,  greatly  to  his  sur- 
prise, directly  he  had  left  the  steamer.  Had  I  been  slar- 
ishly  governed  by  my  physical  senses  instead  of  trusting 
to  some  surer  and  subtler  faculty  of  discernment,  I  should 
certainly  have  failed  to  acknowledge  him,  so  greatly  did 
he  differ  in  appearance  from  the  description  I  had  been 
given  of  him.  We  cannot  expect  that  when  we  change  in 
outward  aspects  thus  rapidly  on  earth,  we  shall  remain 
stationary  in  external  aspect  in  the  world  of  spirits.  There 
is,  however,  this  to  be  said  concerning  relatively  fixed  ap- 
pearance in  the  life  beyond.  We  are  not  there,  as  here, 
so  greatly  affected  by  outward  climate,  and  outer  appear- 
ance changes  only  as  it  indicates  alterations  in  our  interior 
state.  Such  is  the  unanimous  and  unfaltering  verdict  of 
spiritual  testifiers  wherever  they  have  made  their  presence 
known. 

And  now,  finally,  concerning  the  weighing  of  evidence 
in  the  scales  of  reason.  We  may  certainly  maintain  in  the 
face  of  all  opposition  that  every  individual  communication 
should  be  judged  on  its  particular  merits,  and  neither  be 
accepted  nor  rejected  on  the  merits  or  demerits  of  any 
other  submitted  message.  We  cannot  believe,  unless  we 
part  company  with  reason,  that  we  are  victims  of  stupid 
or  wicked  deception  in  cases  where  the  teachings  given 
are  of  the  highest  moral  import,  and  where  the  informa- 
tion offered  is  proved  correct  in  every  detail  as  far  as  we 
can  possibly  verify  it.  The  crude  and  intricate  theories 
now  afloat  to  discredit  evidence  of  spirit  intercourse  are 
far  more  difficult  and  far  less  probable  than  the  plain  sat- 


The  Question  of  Spirit  Identity         55 

isfactory  conclusion  long  ago  reached  by  all  intelligent  and 
dispassionate  int^uirers — that  we  do  on  many  occasions  re- 
ceive convincing  proof  of  the  identity  of  communicating 
spirits.  In  conclusion,  let  us  look  for  an  instant  at  the 
mental  characteristics  of  a  few  of  the  typical  students  of 
psychic  phenomena  who  during  recent  years  have  become 
thoroughly  satisfied  that  in  many  instances,  though  not  in 
all,  proof  positive  of  spirit  identity  has  been  obtained. 
Professor  Hodgson  and  Mr.  Myers  were  thoroughly  satis- 
fied at  length,  through  Mrs.  Piper's  mediumship  and  that 
of  other  sensitives ;  and  so  were  Miss  Lihan  Whiting  and 
Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  as  well  as  many  other  representa- 
tive and  cautious  investigators.  These  famous  persons 
had  nothing  to  gain  and  possibly  something  to  lose,  by 
outspoken  advocacy  of  Spiritualism ;  and  in  the  case  of 
Dr.  Savage  it  is  well  known  that  his  tendency  of  thought 
was  decidedly  agnostic,  and  for  many  years  during  his 
popular  ministry  in  Boston  he  was  largely  a  champion  and 
exponent  of  the  philosophy  of  Herbert  Spencer.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  see  why  people  should  prefer  the  devil  to  their 
own  friends  who  have  passed  beyond  the  mystic  portals, 
and  it  surely  cannot  be  easier  for  normal  intellects  to  be- 
lieve in  imaginary  evil  demons,  of  whom  we  know  practic- 
ally nothing,  except  on  unsupported  hearsay,  than  in  the 
presence  and  activity  of  the  very  people  whom  we  have 
known  on  earth  as  real  personages,  and  who  reappear  with 
their  own  well-known  characteristics.  Telepathy  and  all 
other  demonstrable  phases  of  psychic  phenomena,  must  be 
freely  admitted  by  every  student  of  psychic  science,  and 
it  has  now  become  the  imperative  duty  and  solemn  privi- 
lege of  all  who  have  knowledge  in  this  direction  to  eluci- 
date as  far  as  possible  the  truthful  doctrine  of  the  close  re- 


56  Universal  Spiritualism 

semblance  and  intimate  relation  of  telepathy  to  Spiritual- 
ism. Simple  telepathy  throws  much  clear  light  on  our 
present  spiritual  abilities,  and  spirit  communion  transcends 
mundane  telepathic  experience  by  carrying  telepathy  across 
the  unseen  border  into  those  sympathetic  realms  of  spirit- 
ual activity  where  the  powers  and  functions  of  our  ''sub- 
selves  "  or  "  subjective  minds  "  are  more  fully  unfolded  and 
more  freely  and  extensively  exercised  than  they  seemingly 
ever  can  be  during  terrestrial  embodiment.  Let  us  be 
open  to  all  classes  of  evidence,  and  construct  theories  to 
account  for  facts,  but  never  seek  to  squeeze  facts  into 
grooves  of  premeditated  theory. 


CHAPTER  II 

BIRD'S-EYE    VIEW  OF  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 
SPIRITUAL  PHILOSOPHY 

To  the  searcher  of  ancient  records  who  endeavors  to 
diligently  compare  the  views  entertained  by  philosophers 
of  remote  antiquity  with  those  of  the  present  time,  the 
truth  of  the  famous  saying,  *'  There  is  nothing  new  under 
the  sun,"  is  forced  home  with  remarkable  force  of  dem- 
onstration, for  notwithstanding  the  claims  for  novelty  and 
the  boasts  of  originality  which  meet  a  student  at  every 
turn,  whenever  we  candidly  compare  the  newest  theories 
with  the  oldest,  we  soon  discover  that  the  new  are  very 
old  and  the  old  are  very  new. 

This  discovery,  far  from  disheartening,  should  greatly 
encourage  our  endeavors  to  find  a  common  basis  for  phi- 
losophy rooted  deeply  in  the  essential  constitution  of  hu- 
manity, therefore  capable  of  subsisting  through  all  ages 
and  reappearing  on  the  surface  of  human  thought  period- 
ically, as  wave  after  wave  of  spiritual  excitement  testifies 
to  the  working  of  a  cyclic  law  in  the  history  of  human 
progress. 

Spiritual  philosophy  is  truly  Spiritualism  as  properly  dis- 
tinguished from  Materialism  and  Agnosticism,  its  only  two 
serious  competitors.  Spiritual  philosophers  base  all  their 
conclusions  upon  certain  fundamental  premises,  first 
among  which  is  the  cardinal  postulate  of  spirit. 
Whether  infinite  intelligence  or  any  other  specific  term 
be  now  employed  to  designate  the  absolute  reality,  the 
fundamental  premise   must  always  be  an  acknowledgment 

57 


58  Universal  Spiritualism 

of  INFINITE  ETERNAL  LIFE,  supreme  consciousiiess,  beyond 
all  comprehension,  yet  surely  apprehended  by  human  in- 
tuition and  revealed  in  measure  to  human  understanding. 

It  is  idle  to  speculate  concerning  the  Unconditioned 
ABSOLUTE,  as  we  are  living  in  realms  of  relativity  and  can 
only  deal  with  finite  concepts  and  limited  experiences, 
yet  are  we  compelled  to  predicate  the  illimitable,  no  matter 
whether  we  name  the  Infinite  or  leave  the  Infinite  un- 
named. 

Herbert  Spencer,  who  is  always  ranked  as  a  foremost 
agnostic,  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  philosophers  had  al- 
ways been  divided  into  schools  of  Materialists  and  Spirit- 
ualists, some  interpreting  universal  phenomena  in  terms  of 
Spirit,  others  in  terms  of  Matter. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  writer  of  these  pages  to  enter 
upon  any  labored  endeavor  to  refute  materialistic  state- 
ments seriatim,  but  rather  to  present  in  consecutive  order, 
as  far  as  possible,  some  reasons  for  faith  in  the  spiritual 
nature  of  the  universe  which  render  invalid  all  denial  or 
negation  of  human  immortality.  And  even  should  it  be 
contended  that  no  philosophy  explains  all  facts  or  solves 
all  problems,  granting  that  such  an  assertion  be  correct, 
the  acceptance  of  its  verity  by  no  means  necessitates  our 
acceptance  of  a  philosophy  which  accounts  for  fewer  in- 
stead of  embracing  one  which  explains  satisfactorily  a 
much  larger  number  of  the  facts  with  which  we  are  all 
compelled  to  wrestle,  if  we  seek  to  solve  the  problem  of 
existence  with  the  aid  of  any  working  hypothesis. 

We  find  ourselves  in  an  objective  world,  but  in  a  sub- 
jective region  also.  We  experience  much  through  our 
five  external  senses  which,  however,  we  can  by  no  means 
limit,  therefore  such  terms  as  clairvoyance,  clairsentience. 


Ancient  and  Modern  Spiritual  Philosophy  59 

psychometry,  and  other  words  coined  to  express  our  con- 
sciousness of  enlarged  perceptions  and  experiences,  are 
quite  as  much  a  part  of  a  legitimate  vocabulary  as  the 
much  commoner  words,  sight,  hearing,  feeling  and  other 
terms  universally  employed  to  designate  experiences  of 
which  all  average  human  beings  in  normal  condition  are 
unmistakably  conscious. 

Nothing  can  be  more  self-evident  than  that  our  range  of 
observation  is  practically  limitless,  for  no  one  can  decide 
how  much  wider  or  narrower  may  be  another's  range  of 
observation  than  his  own.  We  speak  glibly  enough  of  five 
senses,  and  talk  of  sight,  hearing,  taste,  touch  and  smell, 
and  unless  some  of  us  are  abnormally  deficient  in  common 
faculties  we  all  understand  well  enough  what  is  meant  by 
the  terms  we  so  familiarly  employ.  But  when  asked  how 
much  do  we  see,  hear,  taste,  touch  or  smell,  an  amazing 
difference  is  found  to  exist  among  seemingly  normal  indi- 
viduals, so  much  so  that  anything  like  an  average  extent 
of  knowledge  obtainable  through  the  five  universally  ac- 
knowledged avenues  seems  almost  impossible  to  reach. 

Once  let  this  admission,  which  is  actually  self-evident, 
be  estimated  at  something  like  its  adequate  worth,  and  we 
shall  cease  to  cavil  and  demur  when  told  of  seers  and 
seeresses  who  see,  or  otherwise  become  conscious  of,  far 
more  subtle  phenomena  than  meet  the  ordinary  gaze  of 
the  average  man,  woman  or  child. 

To  the  average  human  being  of  to-day,  living  in  a  state 
of  so-called  civilization,  and  engaged  in  ordinary  secular 
employments,  a  spiritual  realm  seems  an  unknown  if  not 
an  unknowable  region.  And  it  cannot  be  truthfully  as- 
serted that  the  rank  and  file  of  religious  teachers  are  much 
more  open  to  conscious  acquaintance  with  the  realm  of 


6o  Universal  Spiritualism 

Spirit,  than  is  the  bulk  of  the  laity  whom  clergy  seek  to 
instruct  in  spiritual  mysteries. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  religious  leaders  rest  all  their 
vaunted  knowledge  of  a  spiritual  universe  and  a  spiritual 
revelation  upon  doubtful  historic  evidences,  many  of  which 
are  now  seriously  discredited  in  scientific  circles.  Though 
modern  biblical  criticism  is  often  unreasonably  iconoclastic, 
we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  it  does  certainly 
seem  reasonable  to  deny  that  events  of  a  highly  mysterious 
character  ever  occurred  in  the  past  if  such  are  never  dupli- 
cated in  the  present.  And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a 
large  section  of  the  Christian  Church  has  resolutely  con- 
tended against  all  claims  to  a  present-day  revelation,  while 
insisting  upon  the  verbal  accuracy  of  every  biblical  record 
of  spiritual  manifestations  which  occurred  i,8oo  or  consid- 
erably more  years  ago. 

"  It  must  of  necessity  be  extremely  difficult  to  verify  facts 
many  of  which  are  said  to  be  2,000,  3,000,  and  even 
more  years  old,  particularly  when  we  are  told  that  nothing 
like  them  can  take  place  to-day.  But  no  sooner  is  such 
an  insane  position  abandoned  and  a  reasonable  doctrine 
of  the  persistent  continuity  of  spiritual  revelation  substi- 
tuted, than  the  chief  objections  vanish  and  the  greatest 
difficulties  are  dispelled.  Not  one  Bible  only,  but  many 
Bibles  must  be  searched  and  studied  side  by  side  before 
we  can  fairly  claim  to  be  acquainted,  even  in  barest  out- 
line, with  the  bulk  of  testimony  which  long  ages  have 
afforded  to  substantiate  the  primal  claim  of  all  Spiritualists, 
that  we  as  human  beings  are  not  mere  mortal  existences, 
but  immortal  entities  clad  a  while  in  mortal  garb. 

Our  first  enquiry  must  be  into  the  nature  of  humanity 
itself,  then  let  us  proceed  to  points  of  variation  which  serve 


Ancient  and  Modem  Spiritual  Philosophy  6l 

to  distinguish  individuals  and  races  from  each  other. 
Every  human  being,  so  far  as  we  have  opportunity  to 
judge,  is  endowed  with  affection,  desire  to  Uve,  and  many 
other  distinctly  universal  attributes  which  humanity  does 
not,  however,  exclusively  possess,  as  the  entire  animal 
kingdom  gives  evidences  of  sharing  these  emotions. 

Evolutionists  of  the  materialistic  school,  headed  by 
Prof.  Ernst  Haeckel  of  Germany,  lay  much  stress  upon 
the  fact  that  many  animals  (dogs  especially)  display  quali- 
ties which  we  are  accustomed  to  call  moral,  and  if  we 
claim  immortal  life  for  human  beings,  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  concede  some  future  existence  for  the  higher 
animals  as  well  as  for  ourselves. 

With  such  a  proposition,  thus  mildly  stated,  we  are 
prepared  to  take  no  issue,  and  were  that  doctrine  the  sum- 
ming up  of  Haeckel' s  teachings,  we  should  offer  no  protest 
against  conclusions  reached  in  *'The  Riddle  of  the  Uni- 
verse." But  its  author  emphatically  denies  that  there  is  a 
true  human  entity  or  a  persistent  soul  surviving  physical 
dissolution,  either  in  man  or  animal.  It  is  not  with  any 
affirmative  declaration  concerning  animals,  but  with  negative 
statements  concerning  humanity  that  we  take  decisive  issue. 

If  certain  animals  are  conscious  of  yearnings  after  con- 
tinued life,  and  are  capable  of  sharing  and  enjoying  it, 
they  will  certainly  have  their  portion  in  a  state  beyond  the 
grave;  but  to  grant  continued  existence  for  certain  animals 
is  in  no  sense  to  deny,  or  even  to  call  in  question,  human 
immortality. 

With  the  purely  philosophic  view  of  immortality,  be- 
ginningless  and  endless  individual  hfe  as  proclaimed  by 
Socrates,  according  to  Plato,  comparatively  few  modern 
Spiritualists  attempt  to  deal,  although  there  are  some  who 


62  Universal  Spiritualism 

declare  with  the  world-renowned  Cora  L.  V.  Richmond, 
that  inspiring  intelligences  of  great  experience  and  pro- 
found wisdom  affirm  that  the  soul  is  an  ^^  eternal  finite 
entity''  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  can  none  of  us  deny  that 
the  doctrine  of  preexistence  as  well  as  future  existence 
has  been  taught  by  illustrious  seers  and  sages  in  almost 
every  age  and  clime.  And  this  fact  is  vouched  for  by 
Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles  and  other  veteran  Spiritualists  who  be- 
long to  a  school  which  opposes  the  doctrine  of  repeated 
embodiments  of  the  soul,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  attack 
vigorously  the  views  of  many  prominent  Theosophists. 

On  all  points  of  speculative  philosophy,  both  as  con- 
cerns man's  past  and  future,  it  appears  that  there  is  as 
much  difference  in  the  spirit-world  as  there  is  on  earth,  if 
we  may  credit  the  testimony  which  the  ages  have  brought 
concerning  teachings  received  from  the  other  side  of  the 
mortal  veil  which  hangs  between  the  earth  and  spheres  of 
existence  capable  of  manifesting  individual  life  through 
other  than  physical  vehicles.  But  on  one  point  all  spirit- 
ual testimony  seems  agreed,  viz.  :  that  life  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  mystic  veil  is  subject  to  the  same  great  uni- 
versal law  which  regulates  the  course  of  individual  exist- 
ence on  the  outer  earth. 

Human  nature  is  not  changed  by  death,  for  death  only 
removes  an  outer  covering  (the  most  external  sheath  of 
personality)  leaving  the  entity  and  its  psychic  vehicle  en- 
tirely unmolested.  Shakespeare's  expression  "When  we 
have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil"  has  never  been  im- 
proved. As  centuries  roll  on  and  testimonies  accumulate 
concerning  spiritual  existence,  we  can  still  revert  to  Ham- 
let and  ponder  over  the  marvelous  insight  displayed  in  that 
immortal  tragedy. 


Ancient  and  Modern  Spiritual  Philosophy  63 

The  description  of  Hamlet's  father  clad  in  armor  is  one 
of  those  unmistakable  evidences  of  world-wide  belief  in 
the  actual  objectivity  of  the  psychic  realm  which  crops 
out  wherever  any  attempt  is  made  to  vividly  portray  a 
condition  beyond  death ;  and  though  there  are,  to  some 
minds,  grave  difficulties  connected  with  this  dominant  and 
everlastingly  persistent  faith,  it  is,  when  closely  analyzed, 
found  to  be  entirely  rational  and  in  complete  accordance 
with  all  that  we  have  a  right  to  expect. 

In  Shakespeare's  day  belief  in  purgatory  was  undoubt- 
edly strongly  ingrained  in  the  mind  of  the  British  nation, 
even  though  the  Protestant  reformers  had  vigorously  in- 
tveighed  against  it,  and  the  thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England  distinctly  repudiates  what  it  styles  the 
*'  Romish  "  form  of  the  doctrine. 

But  theological  disputes  aside,  the  idea  of  suffering  for 
purposes  of  spiritual  purification  beyond  the  grave  is  com- 
mon to  all  religious  and  philosophical  systems  at  their  base, 
though  there  have  often  been  times  when  a  reactionary 
movement  has  set  in  against  a  reasonable  doctrine,  in  con- 
sequence of  perversions  and  abuses  such  as  the  ''sale  of 
indulgences,"  which  at  one  time  gave  great  scandal  in 
many  parts  of  Europe.  But  protest  as  we  may  against 
accretions  which  may  be  fairly  termed  excrescent,  we  are 
not  justified  in  casting  any  slur  upon  the  essentials  of  a 
I  doctrine  which  is  at  root  reasonable  and  moral  in  the  ex- 
\treme. 

Hamlet's  father  had  been  a  good  king,  a  faithful  ruler 
beloved  and  honored  by  his  subjects,  and  it  seems  at  the 
first  glance  not  quite  fair  that  he  should  be  a  sufferer  in 
the  unseen  world,  because  it  was  only  Hamlet's  mother 
and  uncle  who  had  committed  grievous  wrong.     It  takes 


64  Universal  Spiritualism 

but  a  very  little  psychic  insight,  however,  to  perceive  that 
Shakespeare  was  teaching  forcibly  the  all-important  truth 
that  no  spiritual  rest  or  bliss  is  possible  while  thirst  for 
vengeance  vitiates  the  heart. 

Hamlet's  father  was  seeking,  so  the  tragedy  declares,  to 
force  his  son  to  be  revenged  upon  his  wife  and  brother, 
but  though  those  individuals  had  proved  guilty  of  atro- 
cious crimes,  there  could  be  no  peace  for  the  spirit  which 
haunted  earth  with  such  an  object  in  view  as  that  of  work- 
ing bitter,  even  though  not  unjust,  retaliation. 

Recompense  is  meted  out  to  all  by  infinite  equity,  and 
it  is  sound  doctrine  that  assures  us  that  we  are  rewarded 
by  our  virtues  and  afflicted  by  our  vices.  But  let  the 
mills  of  destiny  do  their  own  most  perfect  grinding,  it  is 
not  for  us  to  interfere,  and  we  cannot  seek  to  interfere, 
without  wrecking  our  own  happiness,  with  the  outworking 
of  the  changeless  plan  which  causes  every  word,  deed, 
and  even  secret  thought,  to  be  its  own  rewarder  or 
avenger. 

The  armor  worn  on  the  psychic  plane  by  the  spirit  who 
is  still  in  will  a  warrior,  describes  with  glowing  accuracy  a 
fundamental  proposition  of  universal  Spiritual  philosophy, 
a  truth  attested  by  every  seer  and  sage  who  has  spoken 
definitely  on  the  mighty  subject  of  the  relation  of  subject- 
ive causes  to  exterior  effects. 

When  the  old  English  poet,  Spencer,  in  his  ''Faerie 
Queen,"  tells  us 

"The  soul  is  form,  and  doth  the  body  make, 
For  of  the  soul  the  body  form  doth  take," 

that  bard  of  olden  days,  with  keen  spiritual  discernment 
such  as  poets  frequently  make  manifest,  found  himself  far 


Ancient  and  Modern  Spiritual  Philosophy  65 

more  knowing  in  the  realm  of  deep  philosophy  than  his 
illustrious  nineteenth  century  namesake,  the  philosophic 
Spencer,  who  found  a  mighty  obstacle  in  the  world's  per- 
petual belief  in  what  he  called  "the  immortality  of  clothing." 
The  plastic  substance  of  the  psychic  plane,  which  is 
matter  of  a  less  gross  grade  than  that  of  the  external  earth, 
lends  itself  far  more  readily  than  does  the  grosser  sort  to 
every  psychical  emotion.  Therefore  have  the  seers  of  all 
ages  informed  us  that  the  state  of  conscious  existence 
which  survives  physical  embodiment,  and  is  the  next  state 
following  immediately  upon  the  present,  does  not  differ 
very  radically  from  the  earthly  plane  in  any  important 
particular. 

The  concensus  of  statement  among  seers  and  sages  may 
be  summed  up  in  a  single  sentence  used  by  Dr.  Lyman 
Abbott  many  years  ago,  "  We  do  not  die  and  live  again, 
we  simply  go  on  living."  And  long  after  that  phrase  had 
become  familiar,  as  an  expression  in  harmony  with  what 
was  at  one  time  called  "  new  progressive  orthodoxy  "  came 
/the  monumental  work  of  Prof.  Frederick  W.  H.  Myers, 
■bearing  the  title  "  Human  Personality,  its  survival  of 
bodily  death."  In  the  course  of  two  massive  volumes  ex- 
tending to  1,360  pages,  that  able,  conscientious,  tireless 
worker  in  the  field  of  "psychical  research"  gave  to  the 
world  as  a  most  valuable  legacy,  a  carefully  kept  record 
of  experiences  extending  over  from  twenty  to  thirty  years, 
during  which  long  period  Prof.  Myers  was  a  co-investi- 
gator with  Sir  Wm.  Crookes,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  and  many 
other  illustrious  men  of  brilliant  scientific  attainments  who 
never  hesitated  to  bend  their  best  energies  to  an  enquiry 
into  the  mysteries  of  what  the  gifted  journalist  and  author 
Wm.  Stead  calls  "Borderland." 


66  Universal  Spiritualism 

And  it  is  along  the  border  line  between  two  planes  of 
conscious  activity,  often  called  two  worlds,  that  most  mod- 
ern investigations  in  the  psychic  field  are  industriously 
conducted.  Beyond  the  border,  few  seek,  or  dare,  or 
even  know  how  to  venture.  The  typical  Spiritualist  who 
prizes  phenomena  and  delights  in  "tests,"  no  matter  how 
conscientious  and  upright  he  or  she  may  be,  seeks  and  finds 
only  the  fringe  of  the  border  of  that  immeasurable  spirit- 
ual universe  which  stretches  to  infinity. 

With  all  becoming  modesty,  therefore,  scientific  ex- 
plorers claim  to  be  agnostic  regarding  what  lies  very  far 
ahead  of  immediate  conditions  directly  connected  with  or- 
dinary life  on  earth.  Beautiful  and  blessed  are  the  conso- 
lations, and  valuable  indeed  the  lessons  which  borderland 
experiences  can  teach,  but  there  are  adventurers,  bold  en- 
quirers, intrepid  souls  who  falter  not  because  of  difficulty 
or  of  danger,  who  have  in  all  ages  (and  their  race  is  not 
extinct  to-day),  crossed  the  mystic  bar,  transcended  the 
occult  threshold,  and  sailed  forth  upon  the  unfathomed 
ocean  of  transcendentally  spiritual  existence. 

"Such  are  the  Illuminati,  the  master-spirits  to  whom  we 
are  assuredly  indebted  for  the  highest  instruction  to  be 
found  in  the  world's  many  bibles  whose  arcane  significance 
remains  unguessed  by  the  teeming  multitudes  who  con  the 
letter  but  seek  not  to  crack  the  shells  of  spiritual  nuts,  for 
they  dream  not  of  the  delicious  and  nutritious  meat  within. 
As  we  trace  the  history  of  spirit- communion  through  the 
ages,  we  shall  catch  occasional  glimpses  of  a  dazzlingly 
fair  transcendent  realm  beyond,  though  very  often  our  eyes 
will  be  directed  only  to  the  border  and  what  lies  just  be- 
yond our  present  physical  existence. 


CHAPTER  III 

DIFFERING    ASPECTS    OF    SPIRITUAL     PHILOS- 
OPHY—THE RIGHTEOUS  CLAIMS  OF 
EGOISM  AND  OF  ALTRUISM 

Quite  recently  the  statement  has  appeared  in  pubUc 
print  that  in  addition  to  the  '*  Iron  "  rule  of  conduct  which 
bids  us  render  evil  for  evil;  the  "Silver"  rule  which 
counsels  us  to  return  good  for  good;  and  the  "Golden" 
rule  which  urges  that  good  be  rendered  in  exchange  for 
evil,  there  is  still  another  rule  which  should  be  the  guide 
of  all  who  accept  modern  spiritual  philosophy,  a  "Dia- 
mond" rule  which  exhorts  us  to  do  "all  for  others." 
Beautiful  and  ennobling  though  the  sentiment  may  be 
which  is  couched  in  such  uncompromisingly  altruistic 
language,  there  seems  room  for  dispute  as  to  whether  such 
a  precept  is  truly  practical  or  altogether  desirable.  The 
charms  of  altruism  consist  in  its  avowed  unselfishness,  and 
we  are  often  told  that  to  be  saintly  we  must  be  selfless. 
But  is  this  counsel  entirely  sound  ?  Will  it  stand  the  test 
of  rigorous  investigation,  or  is  there  somewhere  a  defect 
which  renders  it  less  than  perfectly  satisfactory?  Egoism 
is  doubtless  far  more  ancient  than  altruism  ;  it  is  indeed 
the  most  primitive  of  all  philosophies,  entrenched  as  it  is 
in  that  stronghold  of  self-preservativeness  which  is  the 
primal  instinct  of  every  living  creature.  "  I  must  pro- 
tect myself,"  says  every  form  of  animate  existence,  and 
human  entities  offer  no  exception  to  the  universal  rule. 
Egotism  is  a  corrupted  and  insufferably  conceited  form  of 

67 


68  Universal  Spiritualism 

egoism  and  does  not  rank  among  philosophies,  therefore 
we  need  not  now  discuss  it,  but  simple  egoism  or  individ- 
ualism must  be  reckoned  with  as  a  permanent  factor  direct- 
ing human  conduct.  Altruism  is  extremely  difficult  to 
comprehend  though  mutualism,  which  is  pure  philanthropy, 
is  readily  comprehended.  Even  Tolstoi,  the  most  nearly 
altruistic  of  all  great  characters  now  in  the  public  eye, 
must  pay  some  heed  to  his  own  requirements  or  even  he 
could  not  sustain  existence  on  the  earthly  plane.  But  the 
question  evidently  raised  by  advocates  of  the  *'  Diamond  " 
precept  is  can  we  not  still  care  for  ourselves  but  only 
because  we  know  that  by  so  doing  we  are  helping  others  ? 
The  answer  is  readily  given  that  we  can,  but  this  granted 
is  it  not  well  to  inspect -our  motives  a  little  closely  and  put 
ourselves  on  guard  against  exaggerated  statements  which 
may  lead  us  unconsciously  into  the  quagmire  of  hypocrisy. 
That  there  may  be  a  few  exceptional  individuals  who  do 
all  with  a  view  to  the  good  of  others  is  quite  conceivable, 
but  we  need,  when  formulating  a  practical  philosophy,  to 
adapt  it  to  the  rank  and  file  of  honest  aspiring  human 
beings,  not  to  render  it  acceptable  only  to  a  very  small 
minority  of  exceptionally  spiritualized  individuals.  '/A 
highly  respected  English  bishop,  late  of  the  See  of  Peter- 
borough, said  that  the  ''  Sermon  on  the  Mount"  was  never 
intended  for  ordinary  humanity  but  exclusively  for  special 
disciples  who,  to  use  theological  language,  had  been  called 
to  transcend  the  way  of  the  commandments  and  walk  in 
the  narrower  path  of  the  counsels  of  perfection. '  That 
there  is  some  justification  for  that  view  cannot  be  gainsaid 
when  we  remember  the  peculiar  circumstances  amid  which 
the  body  of  doctrine  thus  designated  is  said  to  have  been 
enunciated,  and  research  into  earlier  and  contemporary 


Differing  Aspects  of  Spiritual  Philosophy  69 

literature  by  no  means  disposes  of  the  idea  that  exceptional 
teachers  sometimes  gave  exceptional  teaching  to  exceptional 
disciples.  The  doctrine  of  extreme  non-resistance  advo- 
cated in  such  familiar  sayings  as  "  whoever  would  deprive 
you  of  your  coat  let  him  have  your  cloak  also  "  and  "  who- 
ever would  compel  you  to  go  one  mile,  go  with  him  two 
miles"  is  susceptible  of  more  than  a  single  interpretation. 
It  therefore  becomes  us  to  endeavor  to  grasp  the  widest 
possible  application  of  such  counsels  if  we  profess  any  re- 
gard for  their  authority. 

With  the  state  of  the  Roman  world  and  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple eighteen  or  nineteen  centuries  ago  we  are  not  now 
immediately  concerned.  We  cannot,  however,  afford  to 
entirely  neglect  historic  features  if  we  are  to  clearly  grasp 
the  genuinely  practical  import  of  teachings  which  are  said 
to  constitute  the  original  basis  of  Christian  ethics.  Judea 
was  a  Roman  province  and  Caesar's  eagles  were  displayed 
in  Jerusalem  as  a  sign  of  Roman  supremacy  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era.  Then,  as  in  many  later  as  well 
as  earlier  times,  certain  Jews  were  extremely  ready  to  take 
up  arms  and  fight  to  rescue  Zion  from  servitude  to  Rome. 
/The  more  spiritually-minded  teachers  in  a  community  are 
always  averse  to  warfare,  and  the  wisest  among  them, 
owing  to  deep  spiritual  penetration,  are  able  to  clearly  fore- 
tell the  literal  uselessness  as  well  as  barbarity  of  a  fierce 
material  contest.  They  consequently  use  their  utmost  en- 
deavors to  proclaim  a  policy  of  non-resistance  by  brute 
force,  but  they  never  hesitate  to  advocate  mental  and 
moral  resistance  to  iniquity.)  The  over -valuation  of 
material  things  leads  many  a  man  and  woman  to  think 
very  highly  of  the  surrender  of  coats  and  cloaks  and  all 
sorts  of  material  goods  and  chattels,  which  in  the  eyes 


o  Universal  Spiritualism 


of  seers  and  sages  are  of  very  little  value.  A  neighbor 
may  be  in  destitute  circumstances  and  require  certain 
garments  of  which  you  have  an  over-supply.  Let  him 
have  them  if  he  wants  them,  says  the  spiritual  master,  but 
never  give  up  your  honor.  Your  extreme  generosity  may 
win  for  you  the  good- will  of  many  who  would  be  otherwise 
your  persecutors;  your  readiness  to  make  even  more  inno- 
cent concessions  to  your  reputed  foes  than  they  demand 
may  obtain  for  you  their  good  opinion  and  prevent  cruel 
massacres.  Seeing  that  there  are  many  sacrifices  you  can 
make  without  lowering  your  moral  standard,  make  them  in 
a  spirit  of  true  philanthropy  and  thereby  you  may  convert 
enemies  into  friends,  oppressors  into  advocates.  Such 
counsel  is  sound  as  well  as  politic  and  reflects  the  highest 
possible  credit  upon  whoever  may  have  been  the  first  to 
announce  it  to  the  world.  The  only  possible  controversy 
concerning  such  magnificent  and  thoroughly  practical 
doctrine  centers  around  the  comparatively  unimportant 
question  whether  the  hero  of  the  Christian  gospels  was  or 
was  not  the  original  enunciator  of  so  sublime  a  set  of  pre- 
cepts. Many  Jews  who  highly  endorse  the  sentiment  attrib- 
uted to  Jesus,  declare  that  Jewish  literature  much  older  than 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  emphasizes  the  same 
vital  rule  of  conduct.  Students  of  Indian  philosophy  also 
come  forward  with  a  similar  declaration  concerning 
Buddhistic  teaching  which  antedated  the  origin  of  the 
gospel  manuscripts  by  several  centuries.  Historical  re- 
search alone  is  competent  to  deal  with  controversies  of 
such  a  nature,  but  it  is  clear  to  the  eye  of  all  impartial 
students  that  no  really  important  point  is  raised  by  such 
discussion  as  to  the  ethical  value  of  the  doctrine  submitted 
for  consideration.     Judging  from  the  recent  action  of  a 


Differing  Aspects  of  Spiritual  Philosophy  71 

widely  advertised  "  Interchurch "  movement  which  has 
excluded  Unitarians  from  fellowship  one  can  see  that  it 
may  be  considered  vital  in  the  interests  of  strictly  orthodox 
Christian  theology  to  separate  the  teachings  attributed  to 
Jesus  entirely  from  all  other  counsels  given  to  mankind, 
for  by  so  doing  support  may  be  seemingly  lent  to  the 
doctrine  of  exclusive  divinity  claimed  for  the  great  Master 
of  Christendom,  but  aside  from  the  peculiar  interests  of 
controversial  theology  there  is  nothing  gained,  and  pos- 
sibly much  lost,  by  insisting  that  in  one  collection  of 
valuable  scriptures  alone  can  we  discover  the  highest  moral 
guidance.  To  the  universal  religionist  it  is  a  source  of 
delight  to  discover  that  the  very  highest  standard  of 
morality  has  been  upheld  in  many  lands,  in  many  ages, 
by  many  illumined  teachers,  and  surely  in  days  when  the 
frightful  effects  of  religious  bigotry  are  so  awfully  manifest 
that  American  citizens  and  British  subjects  regardless  of 
creed,  when  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  humanity,  have 
sought  to  induce  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
representatives  of  British  authority  to  urge  upon  the 
Russian  government  the  necessity  of  putting  an  immediate 
stop  to  outrages  upon  unoffending  Jews  inspired  by  race 
prejudice  and  religious  fanaticism  of  the  worst  imaginable 
sort,  it  will  prove  a  boon  to  all  humanitarians  if  scholars 
can  give  the  Christian  world  to  understand  that  the  noble 
and  glorious  rules  of  conduct  emphasized  in  gospel  records 
are  not  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament  alone  but  are 
the  common  heritage  of  enlightened  humanity  conveyed 
through  the  illumined  and  inspiring  seers  and  sages  of 
every  race  and  age.  We  hear  very  much  in  these  days 
about  the  relation  between  religion  and  business  and  it  is 
well  that  pulpits  ring  with  protests  against  commercial  dis- 


y2  Universal  Spiritualism 

honesty  and  that  preachers  urge  upon  congregations  every- 
where the  supreme  importance  of  a  spiritual  life  which  can 
be  lived  every  hour  of  every  day,  every  day  in  every  year. 
"Tainted  money  "  and  *' frenzied  finance  "  are  phrases 
which  many  seek  to  conjure  with  and  doubtless  much  that 
is  extravagant  is  often  said  when  these  highly  sensational 
topics  are  being  passionately  dealt  with,  but  the  great 
cause  for  thankfulness  in  this  generation  is  that  there  is  a 
palpable  renaissance  of  morals  now  everywhere  in  evidence. 
Mammon  worship  is  going  out  of  date.  The  still  mighty 
dollar  is  no  longer  believed  to  be  almighty  and  a  sense  of 
responsibility  towards  moral  order  is  surely  taking  the  place 
of  conscienceless  search  for  naught  but  material  gain. 
Nothing  is  so  pleasing  or  so  hopeful,  nothing  so  cheering  to 
the  heart  of  genuine  philanthropists  as  to  note  how  in- 
creasingly sensitive  the  public  conscience  is  assuredly  be- 
coming. Churches  are  doing  much  good  work  in  this 
direction,  but  the  ethical  sentiment  is  quite  apart  from  all 
ecclesiastical  affiliations  and  is  demonstrating  its  sov- 
ereignty in  many  movements  which  are  founded  upon  no 
dogmatic  theological  basis.  The  work  of  Felix  Adler  of 
New  York,  and  all  associated  with  him  in  the  interests  of 
simply  Ethical  Culture,  which  is  entirely  distinct  from  any 
special  kind  of  theology,  is  quite  sufficient  to  convince  all 
who  use  their  reasoning  faculties  to-day  that  in  church  and 
out  of  church,  in  college  and  out  of  college,  men,  women, 
youths  and  maidens  are  beginning  to  feel  intensely  that  the 
mere  holding  of  great  wealth  is  no  passport  to  the  esteem 
of  right-minded  people  anywhere.  We  know  it  can  be 
argued,  and  it  often  is,  that  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Andrew 
Carnegie,  and  other  multimillionaires  are  almost  wor- 
shiped wherever   they  appear,  even    if  it  be  at  a  Bible 


Differing  Aspects  of  Spiritual  Philosophy  73 

class,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  overlooked  that  the  chief  cause 
for  admiring  those  unquestionably  remarkable  men  is  the 
prevalent  belief  that  they  have  been  more  industrious  and 
have  evinced  more  intellectual  ability  than  have  the  bulk 
of  their  contemporaries.  It  is  not  necessary  to  prove 
whether  such  a  belief  in  those  particular  instances  is  well- 
founded  or  ill-founded,  the  fact  remains  that  that  section 
of  the  public  which  almost  adores  the  very  wealthy  indi- 
vidual of  to-day  professes  to  see  in  the  object  of  its  vener- 
ation not  so  much  money  as  enterprising  will  and  intellec- 
tual ability. 

Now  comes  the  higher  standard.  We  have  worshiped 
intellect  too  much ;  we  are  seeing  that  intellect  alone  can 
be  cruel,  unjust,  tyrannical,  and  from  cold  intellectuality 
we  are  turning  our  affection  towards  a  purely  spiritual 
type  of  morahty.  By  spirituality  should  never  be  meant 
sentimental  piety,  which  is  the  very  reverse  of  heroic  piety, 
but  that  true  saintliness  which  is  soundness,  symmetry, 
holiness  in  the  true  meaning  of  the  term.  ^^  Do  all  for 
others  "  sounds  well  and  it  contains  the  germ  of  a  mighty 
truth,  but  it  is  an  ill-chosen  sentence  by  reason  of  its  non- 
applicability  in  its  obvious  form  to  the  actual  nature  of 
humanity.  The  American  Declaration  of  Independence 
signed  in  1776  served  a  needed  purpose  then,  and  still 
contains  much  that  is  permanently  valuable,  but  were  we 
to  draw  up  a  declaration  now  we  might  frame  it  around 
the  greater  word  i?iterdepe7idence  which  truly  embodies  the 
idea  of  righteous  fellowship  between  nations  as  well  as 
individuals. 

Selfishness  and  unselfishness,  or  selflessness,  are  words 
which  are  pitted  against  each  other  as  though  one  was 
entirely  wrong  and  the  other  entirely  right.     The  utterly 


74  Universal  Spiritualism 

selfish  person  (if  he  exist)  is  a  monster  not  a  normal  human 
being,  while  the  utterly  unselfish  or  selfless  person  conveys 
the  idea  of  one  who  is  impracticable.  Self-culture  is  cer- 
tainly not  selfishness,  but  it  springs  in  measure,  though 
not  entirely,  from  self-regard  and  it  seems  almost  impos- 
sible to  draw  such  very  subtle  lines  as  would  need  to  be 
drawn  in  economic  teaching  if  a  class  in  social  science 
and  political  economy  had  to  be  taught  by  a  professor  of 
sociology  from  the  standpoint  of  unqualified  altruism. 
The  mutualistic  position  is  sane,  safe,  sound,  sensible,  and 
has  the  great  merit  of  being  easily  understood.  If  any 
thoroughgoing  altruist  assum.es  the  middle  way  of  Mutual- 
ism to  be  a  "  compromise  "  then  it  is  not  for  him  to  theo- 
retically advocate  it,  but  even  he  will  discover,  sooner  or 
later,  that  as  no  radical  or  essential  change  can  be  expected 
to  take  place  in  human  nature  his  efforts  will  be  productive 
of  far  less  generous  fruit  than  those  of  his  equally  conscien- 
tious, though  less  sentimental,  neighbor  who  unblushingly 
acknowledges  that  he  takes  human  nature  as  he  finds  it 
and  deals  with  it  accordingly.  Self-interest  itself  is  not 
the  shocking  vice  which  altruists  infer  it  to  be,  nor  are  we 
obliged  to  mourn  over  inate  depravity  before  commencing 
to  instruct  young  people  in  mutual  obligations,  for  many 
more  unkind  and  unjust  deeds  are  performed  thoughtlessly 
than  with  malice  aforethought ;  and  because  we  know 
this  to  be  so  we  are  not  so  depressed  and  weighed  down 
with  a  sense  of  the  world's  exceeding ,  sinfulness  as  are 
many  of  our  "altruistic"  neighbors.  /We  do  not  see  in 
simple  self-love  a  sin  but  only  a  natural  instinct,  not  the 
highest  or  sublimest  instinct  of  humanity,  only  the  earliest 
and  most  rudimentary,  a  good  and  tangible  instinct  never- 
theless and  one  which  Swedenborg  has  assured  us  con- 


Differing  Aspects  of  Spiritual  Philosophy  75 

tinues  to  inhere  in  even  the  celestial  angels  who  are  human 
beings    entirely   regenerated    according    to    Swedenborg's 
philosophy  and  theology.     As  members  one  of  another  let 
us  seek  to  live  up  even  to  the  altitude  of  the  Beatitudes. 
^  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart"  and  ''Blessed  are  the 
peacemakers"  are  two  of  the  loveliest,  truest,  and  most 
inspiring   sentences    in    any    literature.     For   beauty  and 
simplicity  of  statement  they  are  decidedly  unsurpassed  and 
they  may  fairly  be  selected  as  among  the  choicest  gems  in 
the  casket  of  ethical  philosophy.     It  remains  then  only  to 
consider  what   may  be   reasonably  intended  when   those 
great  sayings  are  set  forward  as  "counsels  of  perfection." 
When  a  distinguished  bishop  of  the  English  Church  said 
that  business  could  not  be  conducted  in  strict  conformity 
with   the   Sermon  on  the  Mount  he  merely  resorted  to 
Jesuitical  casuistry,  and  this  every  Jesuit  teacher  will  ad- 
,  mit,  for  Jesuits  have  never  hesitated  to  declare  that  there 
(  are  lower  than  saintly  standards  of  morality  which  can  be 
\  safely  tolerated  in  the  secular  state  though  a  much  higher 
/  rule  must  prevail  among  all  who  give  themselves  up  to  a 
/  technically  "  religious  "  life.     The  same  distinction  is  made 
/   in  India  among  Brahmans,  and  this  is  freely  admitted  by 
^    Annie    Besant    in   articles   which    appeared   in   the  T/ieo- 
sophical  Review  during  the  summer  of  1905,   at  a  time 
when  the   terrible  war   then   raging  between   Russia  and 
Japan    called    forth    protest   of  the   most   vigorous   kind 
against  warfare  in  all  directions.     Katherine  Tingley,  from 
^'Lomaland"  in  Southern  California,  inveighed  against  all 
justification   of  warfare   and   in   her  very  interesting  and 
instructive  periodical  New  Cejitury  Path  she  called  atten- 
tion to  the  self-evident,  but  often  unheeded,  fiict  that  war 
is  not  simply  an  outlet  for  impurities  in  the  planet's  body 


76  Universal  Spiritualism 

as  many  Theosophists  and  others  not  unreasonably  aver, 
but  it  is  a  means  of  generating  fresh  disease,  and  from 
that  standpoint  it  is  certainly  well  for  us  to  regard  it. 
Children  are  brought  up  to  fight,  they  are  taught  the 
brutal  art  of  physical  self-defense,  to  call  which  ^' manly" 
is  absurd  because  every  animal  practices  it  and  there  can 
be  nothing  distinctly  human  in  doing  what  every  quad- 
ruped does  also.  Henry  George  in  his  masterly  work 
"The  Science  of  Political  Economy"  has  called  needed 
attention  to  a  greatly  neglected  aspect  of  tliis  vast  theme, 
for  he  teaches  unequivocally  that  we  know  ourselves  to  be 
truly  human  only  by  discovering  and  exercising  super- 
animal  traits.  We  all  know  that  warships  and  guns  have 
long  been  blessed  by  prelates,  that  weapons  of  warfare  are 
taken  to  church  services  and  that  arms  are  presented  by 
soldiers  at  the  most  solemn  moment  in  a  Military  Mass 
even  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in  New  York  City.  But 
there  are  some  people  among  us  who  are  daring  to  hope 
that  new  thought  may  lead  to  new  action  and  that  these 
old  practices  which  are  supported  by  ages  of  established 
precedent  may  in  the  present  century  become  defunct. 
True  it  is  that  a  Boy's  Brigade  conducted  by  clergymen 
of  the  English  church  may  teach  boys  who  belong  to  it 
useful  lessons  in  obedience  and  self-restraint  and  they  may 
be  much  better  situated  with  a  view  to  general  moral  train- 
ing than  are  soldiers  generally  in  barracks,  but  it  is  a  poor 
comment  on  established  Christianity  with  all  its  vaunted 
following  of  the  *' Prince  of  Peace"  that  it  can  show  no 
higher  than  a  military  ideal  to  the  unchurched  and  un- 
christianized  multitudes.  Complaints  are  constantly  made 
of  an  alleged  decline  in  religion  based  upon  the  supposed 
extreme  self-seeking  of  this  age,  but  despite  all  gloomy 


Differing  Aspects  of  Spiritual  Philosophy  77 

views,  which  some  facts  seem  largely  to  substantiate,  the 
bright  side  of  the  present  outlook  is  clearly  manifest  to  all  j 

who  take  adequate  account  of  the  earnest  protest  against  ' 

iniquity  and  the  outcry  for  justice   and  humanity  which  .\ 

has  never  been  louder  or  stronger  than  it  is  to-day.     The  ; 

signs  of  the  times  at  present  point  unfalteringly  to  the 
opening  of  a  dispensation  of  clearer  light  and  fuller  equity 
than  the  world  has  yet  enjoyed  within  any  historic  period, 
and  to  usher  in  the  glad  new  age  the  ancient  trumpet 
sound  is  heard  anew  :    Zove  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.    Than  i 

this  there  is  no  higher  precept,  for  herein  we  trace  the  true 
meeting  place  of  science  with  religion,  a  genuinely  syn-  i 

thetic  philosophy  satisfying  alike  the  conscience  and  the  • 

reason  of  the  human  race,  blending  self-improvement  with  j 

loving  service  devoted  to  the  good  of  all.     Such  we  claim  i 

is  the  unanimous  teaching  of  illumined  teachers  Oriental 
and  Occidental,  ancient  and  modern  alike. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  SPIRITUAL  FAITH  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT 

Thanks  to  the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  present  enquir- 
ing age,  we  need  not  remain  in  serious  doubt  as  to  what 
was  the  faith  of  those  mysterious  ancient  people  who  were 
old  as  a  nation  long  before  the  Joseph  of  the  Pentateuch 
was  appointed  to  high  station  under  one  of  the  Pharaohs, 
native  princes  of  Mizraim.  Though  the  very  greatest  in- 
terest has  long  centred  in  a  single  monument,  the  Great 
Pyramid  at  Gizeh,  whose  splendid  and  exact  mathematical 
proportions  are  still  a  living  wonder  to  the  chief  among 
modern  Egyptologists,  it  is  by  no  means  a  thankless  task 
to  wander  far  from  that  unique  structure,  which  stands  un- 
rivaled, internally  if  not  externally,  among  the  world's 
discovered  monuments,  and  gaze  upon  the  numerous 
erections  which  thickly  stud  the  Delta  of  the  Nile,  all 
bearing  testimony  to  the  faith  and  life  of  a  mighty  and 
curious  people  who  largely  influenced  Greece,  and  through 
Greece  the  entire  civilized  world,  after  their  own  supremacy 
among  nations  had  been  utterly  extinguished. 

''The  Book  of  the  Dead,"  which  contains  an  enormous 
mass  of  fascinating  information  for  students  of  ancient  be- 
liefs and  customs,  can  now  be  obtained  in  a  partly  English 
dress  without  much  difficulty,  and  it  is  from  that  extra- 
ordinary volume  that  we  can  gather  enough  concerning 
ancient  Egypt  to  familiarize  us  pretty  thoroughly  with  the 
Egpytian  theory  of  the  soul  and  its  transmigrations  enter- 
tained long  before  the  period  of  the  Israelitish  Exodus. 

78 


The  Spiritual  Faith  of  Ancient  Egypt     79 

The  remarkable  silence  of  the  Old  Testament  concerning 
the  state  of  the  departed  soul  is  not  so  much  due  to  the 
materialistic  tenor  of  early  Hebrew  thought  as  to  the  close 
acquaintance  with  Egyptian  Eschatology  which  un- 
doubtedly prevailed  among  the  people  who  were  led  by 
Moses  out  of  Egypt  to  found  a  new  nation  in  Palestine. 

Though  considerable  superstition,  some  of  it  beautiful 
and  some  of  it  repellent,  attaches  to  this  old  body  of  doc- 
trine, it  has  for  the  most  part  a  noble  moral  tendency,  as 
the  entire  philosophy  of  a  future  Hfe  elaborated  in  ancient 
Egypt  exalts  character  far  above  belief;  and  the  influence 
of  this  early  faith  upon  the  Jewish  mind  is  easily  traced  by 
even  the  most  casual  reader  of  the  Pentateuch.  Life  was 
in  ancient  Egypt,  exactly  as  it  was  in  later  Palestine,  a 
continuous  round  of  religious  duties.  The  universe  was 
regarded  as  living,  and  all  the  forces  of  Nature  were  looked 
upon  as  spiritual  agencies.  ''Therefore  there  was  no  athe- 
ism or  infidelity,  and  very  little  scepticism,  rationalism,  or 
\agnosticism  among  Egyptians,  and  there  is  very  little 
among  their  descendants  to-day.  The  average  Christian 
from  Europe  or  America  has  an  utterly  false  idea  of  Solar 
worship,  and  also  of  Sex  worship,  two  of  the  very  oldest 
forms  of  worship  of  which  any  traces  have  been  found ; 
and  though  boasting  of  exceptional  culture,  and  the  pos- 
session of  a  perfect  divine  revelation,  Christian  nations 
until  very  recently  have  been  engulfed  in  superstitions  of  a 
materialistic  type,  such  as  pagan  peoples  never  entertained. 

William  Rounseville  Alger  in  his  long  famous  work, 
''  The  Destiny  of  the  Soul ;  A  Critical  History  of  the  Doc- 
trine of  a  Future  Life"  informs  us  that  the  ancient 
Egyptians  can  only  be  understood,  as  to  their  views  con- 
cerning  a   future  existence,  when  we  have  comprehended 


8o  Universal  Spiritualism 

the  motives  which  led  them  to  lay  the  immense  stress  they 
laid  on  embalming  the  dead.  Contrary  to  many  wide- 
spread opinions  favoring  the  gratuitous  assumption  that  in 
early  Egypt  belief  in  a  literal  physical  resuscitation  of  the 
corpse  prevailed  we  are  led,  alike  by  analogy  and  testi- 
mony, to  conclude  that  the  Egyptian  theory  of  resurrection 
was  far  more  nearly  in  accord  with  some  modern  ideas 
attributed  to  Theosophists  than  with  the  old  school  ortho- 
dox Christian  conception  of  a  literal  physical  re-animation. 
Herodotus  declares  that  the  Egyptians  of  old  believed  that 
after  the  dissolution  of  the  flesh  the  soul  passed  through  a 
/round  of  transmigrations,  and  eventually  reassumed  a 
iphysical  human  body,  but  not  the  same  body  that  it  had 
^laid  aside.  This  is  an  ancient  view  of  reincarnation,  a 
doctrine  which  in  one  or  other  of  its  varied  aspects  is  con- 
stantly cropping  out  in  modern  literature  and  laying  hold 
upon  popular  thought. 

The  body  which  was  embalmed  was  always  seriously 
mutilated ;  the  brain  was  extracted,  and  the  skull  stuffed 
with  cotton.  A  most  important  section  of  the  anatomy 
was  therefore  unpreserved.  This  fact  alone  is  sufficient  to 
prove  that  the  resurrection  of  the  identical  physical  struc- 
ture was  not  a  primitive  Egyptian  anticipation.!  The  real 
object  of  embalming  may  fairly,  in  general  outline,  be 
stated  as  follows  : 

While  the  practice  of  embalming  was  clearly  not  con- 
nected with  any  idea  of  a  future  physical  resuscitation,  it  was 
'intended  to  keep  constantly  in  vision  the  images  of  the  de- 
parted, much  as  we  employ  portraits  and  statues  without  the 
(Slightest  expectation  that  our  departed  friends  will  incarnate 
(within  them  ;  though  it  is  quite  generally  believed  in  India 
that  sacred  images  do,  in  a  certain  sense,  possess  magical 


The  Spiritual  Faith  of  Ancient  Egypt     81 

qualities,  and  that  they  furnish  Hnks  of  communion,  more 
or  less  direct,  between  us  and  those  who  are  represented 
by  the  images.  Therein  is  a  mild  explanation  of  much  that 
is  commonly  called  idolatry,  a  view  which  frees  a  good 
portion  of  idolatrous  practice  from  actually  reprehensible 
associations.  This  view,  now  quite  widely  entertained  by 
students  of  Oriental  beliefs  and  practices,  furnishes  a  con- 
siderable clue  to  the  Egyptian  customs  of  embalming, 
which  were  by  no  means  confined  to  human  bodies,  but  ex- 
tended to  all  venerated  animals,  a  fact  clearly  attested  by 
the  presence  of  mummied  cats  in  the  British  Museum  in 
London. 

Modern  research  among  Egyptian  antiquities  is  revealing 
with  constantly  increasing  clearness  the  spirit  of  the  relig- 
ion of  that  curious  ancient  land  whose  extant  monuments 
furnish  overwhelming  evidence  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of 
immortality  couched  in  the  symbolic  language  of  figura- 
tive art.  Cats,  dogs,  beetles,  and  other  **  sacred  "  creatures 
were  not  probably  venerated  to  the  extent  that  compara- 
tively modern  Christian  critics  have  supposed,  but  they 
were  undoubtedly  used  as  reminders  of  certain  definite 
qualities,  and  often  regarded  as  links  with  some  of  the 
lesser  divinities.  Mummy-cases  are,  in  very  many  in- 
stances, profusely  decorated  w^ith  scenes  intended  to 
represent  the  experiences  of  souls  in  Hades  (an  inclusive 
term  intended  to  include  many  varied  conditions  of  post- 
mortem existence,  ranging  from  very  gloomy  to  almost 
glorious  states).  The  god  Thoth  is  frequently  described 
leadmg  the  soul  into  Amen,  the  underworld  in  which  souls 
polluted  by  grievous  sins  suffer  greatly,  but  which  holds  no 
terrors  for  those  who  have  led  pure  lives.  The  soul  of  the 
newly  departed   is  often  represented  kneeling  and  inter- 


82  Universal  Spiritualism 

ceding  before  the  forty-two  assessors  of  Osiris.  The  final 
trial  takes  place  in  the  Hall  of  Two  Truths,  one  of  which 
approves,  and  the  other  condemns.  Another  name  is  the 
Hall  of  Dual  Justice,  which  metes  out  rewards  and  penal- 
ties. Three  divinities,  Horus,  Anubis,  and  Thoth,  weigh 
every  soul  in  an  unvarying  balance.  In  one  scale  an 
image  of  a  female  divinity  is  placed,  in  the  other  a  heart- 
shaped  vase,  symbolizing  the  heart  of  the  departed  with  all 
the  actions  of  the  earthly  life.  Thoth  notes  the  results  on 
a  tablet,  and  the  soul  advances  with  it  to  the  foot  of  the 
throne  of  Osiris,  who  pronounces  sentence,  which  his 
assistants  execute.*^  A  condemned  soul,  one  whose  evil  acts 
outweigh  the  good,  is  either  sent  back  immediately  to  be 
re-born  as  a  repulsive  animal  or  reptile,  or  driven  into  the 
atmosphere  at  the  mercy  of  the  tempests,  till  all  sins  are 
expiated;  after  which  another  terrestrial  human  life  begins. 
'^Unacceptable  though  this  doctrine  may  be  to  some  modern 
philosophers,  it  is  immeasurably  superior  to  any  view  of 
endless  useless  torment  such  as  many  benighted  Christian 
theologians  have  proclaimed,  for  the  simplest  reasoning 
must  suffice  to  prove  that  any  penalty  which  ultimately  up- 
lifts the  one  who  undergoes  it  may  be  benevolent  at  core, 
while  unending  misery  is  a  conception  for  which  there  is 
neither  rational  explanation  nor  apology. 

Ancient  Egyptian  theories  of  cosmogony  are  distinctly 
worthy  of  consideration,  particularly  in  consequence  of  the 
side-light  they  throw  upon  the  familiar  accounts  in  Genesis. 
The  divisions  of  the  universe  popularly  accepted  in  the 
Egypt  of  long  ago  included  the  earth,  considered  as  a 
place  of  trial  where  all  live  a  probationary  existence,  and 
an  atmosphere  in  which  all  sins  are  punished,  and  where  all 
offenses  may  be  expiated..     The  spiritual  realm  is  described 


The  Spiritual  Faith  of  Ancient  Egypt     83 

as  a  serene  blue  sky  where  the  blessed  dwell  in  peace  and 
happiness  imperturbable. 

Many  allusions  to  Egyptian  beliefs  are  discoverable  in 
several  of  St.  Paul's  epistles,  and  his  mention  of  the 
"  Prince  of  the  Powers  of  the  Air  "  clearly  refers  to  some 
continuation  in  early  Christian  thought  of  a  primitive 
Egyptian  belief  in  Pooh  the  ruler  of  the  realm  of  storms 
and  the  overseer  of  souls  in  penance.  The  sun  is  always 
conceived  of  in  Egyptian  theology  as  the  central  sphere  of 
life  and  the  abode  of  the  mightiest  of  deities,  and  all 
planets  are  regarded  as  spiritual  spheres  robed  awhile  in 
physical  habiliments,  much  as  human  souls  are' robed  in 
forms  of  exterior  matter  during  certain  periods  in  their 
history. 

The  number  12  figures  very  largely  in  Egyptian  symbol- 
ism the  upper  realm  of  spiritual  existence  being  divided 
into  twelve  sections,  at  the  entrance  to  each  of  which  a 
sentinel-divinity  is  stationed.  To  each  of  these  gods  the 
newly  arrived  soul  must  present  satisfactory  credentials  or 
it  cannot  pass  the  portal.  The  twelve  sections  of  the 
higher  realm  correspond  with  the  twelve  day  hours,  while 
the  twelve  sections  of  the  lower  realm  correspond  with  the 
twelve  hours  of  night ;  the  holy  hours  ranging  from  six 
A.  M.  to  six  p.  ivi.,  the  unholy  from  six  p.  m.  to  six  a.  m. 

The  picturesque  and  highly  impressive  symbolism  con- 
nected with  the  venerable  Sun-worship  which  found  its 
central  home  in  Egypt  through  many  generations,  served  to 
impress  upon  the  public  mind  the  idea  that  this  is  indeed  a 
spiritual  universe,  and  though  the  esoteric  .theories  and 
customs  which  prevailed  among  the  populace  suggested 
geocentric  rather  than  heliocentric  astronomy,  every  student 
of  the  inscriptions  upon  the  ancient  papyri,  and  the  still 


84  Universal  Spiritualism 

older  monuments,  cannot  fail  to  discern  a  far  wiser  and  im- 
measurably sublimer  view  of  universal  order  than  could 
possibly  be  gathered  from  a  simple  investigation  of  those 
superficial  modes  of  thought  and  practice  which  character- 
ized the  belief  and  practice  of  the  uninitiated  multitudes. 
Astronomy  and  astrology  (the  two  were  never  separated) 
constituted  a  vital  part  of  Egyptian  theology,  for  the  stars 
were  regarded  literally  as  spiritual  orbs  dressed  in  material 
garments,  a  concept  which  raises  the  ancient  science  of  as- 
trology to  a  place  of  dignity  which  it  can  never  enjoy  in 
modern  days  until  its  essential  propositions  have  been  en- 
tirely rescued  from  fanatical  and  fatalistic  accretions. 
Though  some  authors  tell  us  that  the  great  planets  were 
anciently  regarded  as  deities,  we  may  not  find  sufficient 
grounds  for  accepting  that  assertion  without  some  discount. 
A  better  definition,  and  one  far  less  liable  to  serious  dis- 
pute, is  that  the  various  planets  were  regarded  as^homes  of 
deities  who  presided  over  the  life  of  the  worlds  placed  un- 
der their  immediate  charge. 

Wm.  R.  Alger  rightly  says,  "There  was  much  poetic 
beauty  and  ethical  power  in  these  doctrines  and  symbols. 
The  necessity  of  virtue,  the  dread  ordeals  of  the  grave,  the 
certainty  of  retribution,  the  mystic  circuits  of  transmigra- 
tion, a  glorious  immortality,  the  paths  of  planets,  gods  and 
souls  through  creation,  all  were  impressively  enounced 
dramatically  shown.  The  solemn  linking  of  the  fate  of 
man  with  the  astronomic  universe,  this  grand  blending  of 
the  deepest  of  moral  doctrines  with  the  most  august  of 
physical  sciences,  plainly  betrays  the  brain  and  hand  of 
that  ancient  world."  ''  That  such  a  system  of  belief  was 
too  complex  and  elaborate  to  have  been  a  popular  develop- 
ment is  evident,  but  that  it  was  really  held  by  the  people 


The  Spiritual   Faith  of  Ancient  Egypt     85 

there  is  no  room  to  doubt.  Parts  of  it  were  publicly  en- 
acted on  festival  days  by  multitudes  numbering  more  than 
100,000.  Parts  of  it  were  dimly  shadowed  out  in  the 
secret  recesses  of  temples,  surrounded  by  the  most  as- 
tonishing accompaniments  that  unrivalled  learning,  skill, 
wealth,  and  power  could  contrive.  Its  authority  com- 
manded the  allegiance,  its  charm  fascinated  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  people.  Its  force  built  the  pyramids,  and  en- 
shrined whole  generations  of  Egypt's  embalmed  population 
in  richly  adorned  sepulchres  of  everlasting  rock.  Its  sub- 
stance of  esoteric  knowledge  and  faith,  in  its  form  of  exo- 
teric exhibition  gave  it  vitality  and  endurance  long.  In 
the  vortex  of  change  and  decay  it  sank  at  last,  and  now  it 
is  only  after  its  secrets  have  been  buried  for  thirty  centuries 
that  the  exploring  genius  of  modern  times  has  brought  its 
hidden  hieroglyphics  to  light,  and  taught  us  what  were  the 
doctrines  originally  contained  in  the  altar-lore  of  those 
priestly  schools  which  once  dotted  the  plains  of  the  Delta, 
and  studded  the  banks  of  eldest  Nile,  where  now,  disfigured 
and  gigantic,  the  solemn 

'  Old  Sphinxes  lift  their  countenances  bland, 
Athwart  the  river  sea,  and  sea  of  sand.'  " 


CHAPTER  V 

INFLUENCE  OF  EGYPTIAN  THOUGHT  ON 
JEWISH  VIEWS  OF  IMMORTALITY 

Though  it  has  been  boldly  asserted  in  some  quarters  on 
many  occasions  that  until  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from 
exile  in  Babylon,  they,  as  a  people,  entertained  no  clearly 
defined  belief  in  a  future  life,  such  a  declaration  appears 
incredible  in  the  light  of  Israel's  general  history,  and  the 
extremely  large  amount  of  Egyptian  influence  which  en- 
tered into  the  composition  of  early  Jewish  doctrines. 
Judaism  has  been  from  its  inception  a  moral  system  of  faith 
and  practice,  laying  far  more  stress  upon  a  righteous  life 
than  upon  any  amount  of  simple  creed  or  doctrine,  and  it 
stands  to  reason  that  so  eminently  ethical  a  faith  as  that  of 
Israel  must  appear,  in  the  eyes  of  many,  to  undervalue  the 
extreme  stress  laid  upon  a  future  existence  which  has  char- 
acterized a  very  large  amount  of  accepted  Christian  teach- 
ing. There  seems  good  historical  foundation  for  the  time- 
honored  tradition  that  a  multitude  of  Hebrews  at  one  time 
lived  under  Egyptian  rule,  and  that  they  at  length  went 
out  of  Egypt  and  gradually  established  themselves  as  a 
nation  in  Palestine.  But,  as  the  book  of  Exodus  unmis- 
takably informs  us,  the  people  who  accomplished  their 
exodus  at  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Pharaonic 
dynasty  were  a  ''  mixed  multitude,"  by  no  means  exclu- 
sively of  Hebrew  origin  or  of  Israelitish  faith. 

The  Old  Testament  does  not  seem  greatly  concerned 
with  any  definite  theories  of  a  future  life,  though  it  abounds 
in  narratives  which,  if  accepted   in  any  degree  literally, 

86 


Jewish  Views  of  Immortality  87 

teach  spirit-communion  in  an  unmistakable  manner.  It 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  Mosaic  law  was  intended 
to  be  a  practical  guide  to  life  on  earth  regardless  of  what 
particular  views  of  a  hereafter  might  be  entertained,  and 
one  of  the  most  palpable  reasons  for  much  silence  concern- 
ing the  future  life  may  have  been  the  excessive  attention 
paid  to  beliefs  concerning  it  by  the  Egyptians,  whose  spir- 
itualism had  doubtless  greatly  deteriorated  and  become 
largely  mingled  with  highly  objectionable  practices.  But 
though  it  is  often  urged  that  the  Old  Testament  is,  as  a 
whole,  at  deadly  variance  with  all  attempts  to  communi- 
cate with  the  spiritual  world,^uch  an  inference  is  entirely 
unwarranted,  and  it  has  grown  out  of  a  most  erroneous 
habit  of  confounding  simple  spirit-communion  with  those 
abominable  necromantic  practices  which  are  degrading 
and  revolting  in  the  extreme  wherever  practiced,  and  with 
which  all  that  rightfully  pertains  to_S])iritualism  has  never 
had  the  least  affinity.^  There  was  never  a  time  when 
prophets  in  Israel  believed  only  in  the  possibility  of  hold- 
ing unlawful  intercourse  with  the  unseen  spheres,  but  when 
they  most  scathingly  denounced  iniquitous  customs,  they 
surely  condemned  them  because  they  were  perversions  and 
desecrations  of  faculties  and  powers  which  should  be 
righteously  employed  instead  of  prostituted.  Shortly  be- 
fore the  period  of  the  Exodus,  magic  in  Egypt  had  so  far 
fallen  from  its  primitive  high  estate  that  the  priests  and 
wonder-workers  connected  with  the  temples  not  only  often 
resorted  to  trickery,  but  frequently  endeavored  to  cast  un- 
holy and  injurious  spells  over  all  who  came  into  collision 
with  their  schemes  and  interests ;  and  as  it  can  never  be 
^successfully  denied  that  occult  agencies  are  dangerous 
V  weapons  in  the  hands  of  the  unscrupulous,  the  prophets  in 


88  Universal  Spiritualism 

I'irael  were  doubtless  actuated  by  the  noblest  motives, 
looking_toJthe  general  welfare,  when  they  vehemently  pro- 
tested against  wizards,  witches,  sorcerers,  necromancers, 
and  all  others  who  were  seeking  to  intimidate  the  fearful, 
and  in  some  instances  to  practice  the  Black  Art,  which  in 
modern  France  is  known  as  Satanism^ 

The  trial  of  strength  recorded  in  the  book  of  Exodus  as 
having  taken  place  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  between 
Moses  and  Aaron  on  one  side  and  Pharaoh's  soothsayers  on 
the  other,  is  clearly  intended  to  call  attention  to  the  dis- 
tinctly doubtful  character  of  all  bewildering  phenomena 
which  are  not  accompanied  or  followed  by  some  beneficent 
result.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  equal  success,  phenomenally 
speaking,  was  secured  by  both  parties,  and  it  was  only 
when  the  good  work  of  healing  the  afflicted  was  to  be  ac- 
complished that  Moses  and  Aaron  triumphed  and  their 
antagonists  met  with  complete  defeat.  However  valuable 
may  be  all  psychic  phenomena  from  a  strictly  scientific 
standpoint,  as  throwing  light  upon  the  workings  of  some 
hidden  force  in  Nature  and  latent  faculty  in  man,  from  all 
ethical  view-points  we  must  attach  value  only  to  that  which, 
in  some  direction  at  least,  is  calculated  to  really  confer 
benefit  on  man  or  beast. 

Spiritualists  to-day,  in  common  with  many  who  do  not 
rank  themselves  in  that  category,  are  rapidly  arising  to  a 
sense  of  responsibility  for  the  sort  of  phenomena  they  en- 
courage, and  are  coming  clearly  to  see  that  many  facts 
may  be  wonderful  yet  undesirable.  Egypt  had  had  a  won- 
derful and  glorious  past,  references  to  which  are  made  in 
the  book  of  Genesis,  which  describes  a  happy  situation 
when  people  of  different  nationalities  and  occupations  hved 
and  worked  side  by  side,  cooperating  rather  than   com- 


Jewish  Views  of  Immortality  89 

peting.  In  those  palmy  ancient  days  we  are  told  that 
Pharaoh  the  Egyptian  monarch  and  Joseph  the  Hebrew 
counselor  worked  together  in  beneficent  accord.  The 
stress  laid  upon  dreams  and  their  interpretation  in  that 
older  time  is  specially  significant,  as  it  throws  a  flood  of 
light  on  noteworthy  psychic  experiences  which  were  then 
and  there  almost  universally  credited.  /To  foretell  coming 
events  through  the  agency  of  night  visions  was  no  uncom- 
mon experience  with  seers  of  old,  and  though  the  Pharaohs 
themselves  seem  not  to  have  been  able  to  clearly  define  the 
significance  of  their  own  visions,  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
have  recourse  to  interpreters  more  clairvoyant  or  clair- 
sentient  than  themselves.  The  Hebrew  is  a  psychic  race, 
and  the  Bible  deals  very  largely  with  incidents  in  the  lives 
of  noble  prophets  which  tally  closely  with  much  that  is 
now  exciting  scientific  interest  the  wide  world  over. 

To  say  that  any  useful  and  elevating  phase  of  spiritualism 
is  condemned  in  the  Pentateuch  is  to  utter  an  absurdity, 
though  there  are  laws  and  precepts  therein  which  de- 
nounce iniquitous  practices  in  unmeasured  terms.  Legis- 
lation in  the  ancient  Jewish  state  may  have  been  excessive, 
but  its  entire  tendency  was  to  increase  rather  than  to  cur- 
tail liberty,  (^fhe  practice  of  sorcery  was  intended  to 
wreak  vengeance,  to  work  mischief  generally,  to  curse 
one's  neighbors  or  to  injure  their  belongings,  and  for  that 
cause  it  was  placed  under  the  ban.  But  sorcery  has  no 
connection  with  any  innocent  or  normal  exercise  of  any 
psychic  gift  or  spiritual  endowment.  As  the  general  trend 
of  Egyptian  belief  in  a  future  life  was  clearly  in  the  inter- 
ests of  morality  it  was  not  condemned  in  the  Mosaic  code, 
and  because  of  its  wide-spread  acceptance  among  the  peo- 
ple it  needed  not  that  any  legislator  should  specially  in- 


90  Universal  Spiritualism 

struct  the  masses  concerning  it.  "We  may  fairly  infer  that 
in  early  days  of  Jewish  communal  life  in  Palestine  the 
prevailing  views  entertained  concerning  life  beyond  the 
grave  did  not  differ  radically  from  those  enunciated  and 
elaborated  in  that  fascinating  compendium  of  Egyptian 
doctrine,  "The  Book  of  the  Dead,"  a  fair  English  trans- 
lation of  which,  at  least  in  its  main  features,  is  published 
both  in  New  York  and  London.  In  that  marvelous  tran- 
script of  ancient  ceremony  and  philosophy  we  find  much 
that  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  famous  Jewish  saying, 
"  God's  people  are  all  the  righteous,"  and  we  know  that 
modern  English  scholars  of  high  renown,  notably  Thomas 
Huxley  and  Matthew  Arnold,  have  laid  great  stress  upon 
the  Jewish  concept  that  righteous  life  alone,  not  race  or 
creed,  is  a  passport  to  blessedness  with  the  Eternal. 

Egyptian  philosophy  was  in  essence  monotheistic,  with 
a  polytheistic  accompaniment.  The  many  subordinate 
divinities  of  Egypt  are  not  necessarily  at  variance  with  the 
different  orders  of  Sephiroth  acknowledged  in  the  Jewish 
Kabala,  and  indeed  also  in  the  Ninety-fifth  Psalm  and  in 
many  other  places  in  Hebrew  sacred  literature  we  find  the 
Eternal  One  spoken  of  as  a  great  King  above  all  gods, 
having  supreme  dominion  over  all  lesser  divinities. 

Much  that  must  appear  contradictory  to  the  cursory 
student  of  the  Bible  is  readily  elucidated  ^s  soon  as  we  ad- 
mit its  distinctly  Spiritualistic  element.  (We  are  told  that 
the  Supreme  Being  is  always  invisible,  but  God's  angels 
are  seen  by  men  and  hold  conversations  with  them.*^; 
Three  angels  appear  as  young  men  to  Abraham,  two  of 
whom  go  on  to  another  place  while  one  remains  with  the 
patriarch.  There  are  but  two  possible  explanations  of 
such  a  narrative ;  either  the  theory  that  those  angels  were 


Jewish  Views  of  Immortality  91 

spiritual  beings  sutficiently  materialized  for  Abraham  and 
others  to  behold  them,  or  that  they  were  inspired  men  suf- 
ficiently open  to  spiritual  influx  to  be  rightly  called  God's 
special  messengers  because  they  had  apprehended  spiritual 
order  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  ordinary.  It  seemed 
nothing  singular  for  the  spiritual  world  to  break  in,  so  to 
speak,  in  patriarchal  times  upon  common  scenes  of  daily 
living,  yet  the  actual  number  of  people  who  were  sensitive 
enough  to  take  cognizance  of  these  psychic  irruptions 
seems  to  have  been  but  small.  The  same  mistake  is  being 
made  to-day  that  was  often  made  of  old,  viz.,  that  of  fail- 
ing to  discriminate  between  lawful  use  and  illicit  abuse  of 
psj^chic  potencies.  A  witch  meant  a  poisoner,  and  partic- 
ularly one  who  sought  to  accomplish  the  ends  of  malevo- 
lence by  invoking  the  aid  of  charms  and  incantations  and 
purposely  affiliating  with  such  occult  influences  as  could  be 
used  for  evil  ends.  But  the  woman  at  En-dor  whom  Saul 
consulted,  and  who  declared  she  saw  the  departed  Samuel, 
is  described  in  the  text  as  only  an  innocent  clairvoyant. 
Much  has  been  made,  by  commentators  averse  to  Spiritual- 
ism, of  the  sin  of  Saul  in  consulting  this  woman,  whereas 
the  narrative  itself  distinctly  shows  us  that  the  unhappy 
king's  missteps  before  he  went  to  her  had  already  brought 
him  into  such  condition  that,  so  far  as  his  earthly  career 
was  concerned,  his  fate  was  sealed  already,  it  was  there- 
fore in  vain  that  he  sought  to  "  disturb  "  Samuel. 

Samuel  had  been  Saul's  counselor  on  earth  for  many 
years,  but  the  wayward  monarch  had  time  and  time  again 
rejected  the  prophet's  warning,  then,  when  the  conse- 
quences of  his  repeated  errors  had  made  his  throne  so  in- 
secure that  it  had  already  virtually  slipped  from  under 
him,  Saul  in  desperation  sought  to  gain  an  interview  with 


92  Universal  Spiritualism 

Samuel,  hoping  to  be  shown  a  way  to  avert  an  impending 
catastrophe.  Samuel  could  not  help  Saul  to  retain  his 
earthly  throne,  for  it  was  then  too  late  to  undo  the  mis- 
chief that  had  been  accomplished.  Such  is  the  narrative 
in  outline. 

That  much-abused  story  serves  to  illustrate  a  mighty 
verity  and  to  enforce  a  greatly  needed  moral  lesson,  that 
we  be  wise  betimes ;  but  it  does  not  justify  any  of  the  dia- 
tribe indulged  in  by  fanatics,  who  wrest  from  it  its  obvious 
ethical  instructiveness  and  misemploy  it  as  a  weapon  which 
they  seek  to  direct  against  all  attempt  at  communion  with 
friends  departed  from  the  range  of  mortal  vision. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  individual  human  immortality 
is  not  very  clearly  taught  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  it  is 
inferred  in  many  places,  and  Jewish  rabbis  of  ripe  scholarly 
attainments  have  not  been  lacking  through  a  long  course  of 
centuries,  who  have  found  in  original  Hebrew  texts,  of 
which  we  usually  get  but  very  poor  translations,  what  they 
consider  conclusive  evidence  that  nothing  but  the  fleshly 
tabernacle  was  ever  believed  to  pass  away  or  to  be  des- 
troyed even  if  a  heaven-sent  deluge  came  and  swept  away 
*'  all  flesh  wherein  was  the  breath  of  life." 

The  so-called  pessimistic  book  known  as  Ecclesiastes, 
though  it  apparently  denies  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  at 
least  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  its  critics,  does  not  actually 
do  more  than  contrast  the  inevitable  outcome  of  divers 
ways  of  living,  and  in  one  famous  passage,  in  which  it 
seemingly  makes  man  and  brute  synonymous,  it  really 
raises  the  question  of  who  knows  enough  to  discriminate 
s  between  the  man  and  the  animal,  and  who  can  explain 
'  why  the  breath  of  the  one  floats  upward  and  the  other 
I  downward  when  each  is  living  normally. 


Jewish  Views  of  Immortality  93 

Here  again  we  have  a  recurrence  of  primitive  Egyptian 
teaching.  The  sensuaHst  and  the  egotist,  even  though 
such  may  have  gathered  much  external  information  of 
which  they  are  extremely  proud,  find  at  length  that  self- 
indulgence  and  intellectual  conceit  yield  finally  only  the 
bitter  fruit  of  weary  dissatisfaction.  They,  on  the  other 
hand,  who  have  chosen  a  life  of  righteousness  find  peace 
and  satisfaction. 

Greek  philosophy  is  present  in  Ecclesiastes,  but  much 
Greek  thought  was  continuous  from  Egypt.  ''Out  of 
Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son,"  is  a  phrase  which  admits 
of  considerable  wealth  of  explanation,  for  though  Egypt 
literally  declined  and  its  glory  was  scattered  between 
Greece  and  Israel, — Persia  and  Rome  were  also  indebted 
to  ''  Mizraim  "  for  much  of  their  philosophy.  That  mys- 
tic, ancient  land  so  graphically  referred  to  in  Isaiah  (es- 
pecially in  Chapter  XIX)  lives  to-day  not  only  as  a 
monument  to  departed  glory,  but  as  a  fruitful  field  from 
which  scholars  are  now  busily  gathering  information  which 
throws  enormous  light  upon  the  history  of  the  ancient 
world  and  reveals  the  roots  of  much  modern  philosophy 
and  theology  freely  accepted  in  Christendom. 

The  famous  school  of  Philo  of  Alexandria  embodied 
very  much  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  spirit  at  its  best.  (  Philo 
sought  to  unite  Hebrew  with  Greek  philosophy,  combining 
stern  righteousness  as  set  forth  in  an  uncompromising 
moral  code  with  the  charming  beauty  with  which  Hellenic 
thought  endowed  all  with  which  it  came  in  contact. 

Judaism  to-day,  with  its  many  schools  and  parties, 
ranging  from  extreme  orthodoxy  to  radical  reform,  still 
preserves  many  traces  of  the  "  ornaments  "  and  other  val- 
uables which  tradition  says  the  Israelites  took  out  of  Egypt. 


94  Universal  Spiritualism 

"They  spoiled  the  Egyptians,"  is  not  a  mere  reference  to 
the  removal  of  earthly  goods  from  one  country  to  another. 
The  phrase  has  deeper  reference  to  the  passing  of  Egypt's 
philosophy,  together  with  much  ceremonial  accompaniment, 
out  of  the  Nile  country  to  the  banks  of  the  Jordan. 

Saul  of  Tarsus,  known  to  the  Christian  world  as  Paul  the 
Apostle,  made  multitudinous  references  in  several  of  his 
epistles  to  the  faith  of  Egypt,  and  when  he  wrote  to  the 
Corinthians,  (Corinth  being  a  Grp:ian  seaport  having  much 
trade  with  the  Egyptian  coast),  he  refers  to  the  Egyptian 
scriptures  far  more  frequently  than  to  the  Hebrew  Law. 
If  we  carefully  compare  i  Cor.  "^  with  much  that  is  con- 
tained in  ''The  Book  of  the  Dead,"  we  shall  find  a  strik- 
ing similarity  between  the  views  expressed  in  both  places 
concerning  our  inner  and  outer  bodies,  and  also  as  touch- 
ing the  nature  of  the  resurrection.  No  hint  is  given  that 
the  identical  physical  robe  is  to  be  resumed,  but  quite  the 
contrary,  the  comparison  between  the  body  left  behind  and 
the  body  to  be  made  manifest  is  as  between  bare  grain  or 
seed  and  the  fruitage  which  eventually  it  yields. 

Some  sort  of  resurrection  from  the  dead  has  always  been 
taught  in  Israel,  but  Jewish  sages,  like  the  illustrious 
Moses  Maimonides, — wlio  in  the  twelfth  century  of  the 
present  era  drew  up  the  famous  thirteen  articles  of  Jewish 
faith, — have  always  contented  themselves  with  saying  sim- 
ply that  the  resurrection  will  be  when  and  as  God  pleases, 
leaving  details  completely  aside. 

.-'As  the  Unity  of  God  and  a  righteous  life  are  the  only 
two  essentials  of  Jewish  religion,  we  can  well  understand 
how  natural  it  is  that  there  can  be  different  parties  in 
Jewry  and  different  views  on  many  points  and  yet  Israel  can 
remain  a  solidarity. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  JEWISH    KABALA,— ITS    TEACHINGS 
CONCERNING  IMMORTALITY 

So  mysterious  a  work  as  the  Kabala  cannot  be  reviewed 
as  one  reviews  ordinary  literature  for  the  original  claim 
made  for  the  Kabala  is  that  it  is  in  every  sense  a  revelation 
to  earth  from  heaven. 

One  tradition  concerning  its  origin  is  that  a  society  of 
angels  constitute  a  Theosophic  school  in  Paradise  and  that 
they  chose  seventy  elders  in  Israel  as  their  mouthpieces  on 
earth  and  through  those  elders  alone,  it  was  claimed,  a  cor- 
rect knowledge  of  the  esoteric  meaning  of  the  Torah  could 
be  obtained.  But  regardless  of  legends  concerning  its 
origin  the  Kabala  is  unquestionably  a  marvelous  produc- 
tion well  deserving  serious  attention.  Written  for  the  wise 
alone  it  has  seldom  occurred  that  an  extensive  translation 
into  English  has  been  attempted,  though  a  valuable  book 
entitled  ''The  Kabbalah  Unveiled"  was  issued  by  S.  I. 
MacGregor  Mathers,  published  by  George  Redway  of 
London  in  1887.  This  fascinating  volume  was  dedicated  to 
those  two  remarkable  authors  Dr.  Anna  Kingsford  and 
Edward  Maitland  who  were  deep  students  of  ancient 
mysteries  and  producers  of  really  extraordinary  literature, 
of  which  ''  The  Perfect  Way  or  Finding  of  Christ  "  is  the 
best  known  portion.  The  Kabala  may  reasonably  be 
styled  the  handbook  of  esoteric  Judaism,  and  though  it  is 
largely  discredited  among  Jews  of  the  modern  school,  it  is 
unquestionably  a  source  from  which  many  prevailing 
Jewish  ideas  and  ceremonies  have  emanated.     The  Kabala 

95 


96 


Universal  Spiritualism 


has  long  exerted  an  intense  fascination  for  all  lovers  of  the 
profound  and  the  mysterious,  and  though  at  first  sight  its 
claims  appear  too  stupendous,  and  its  introductory  prop- 
ositions well  nigh  bewildering,  it  thoroughly  repays  an 
earnest  painstaking  study  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  impartial 
examination.  The  twenty-two  letters  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet  must  be  interpreted  somewhat  mystically  before 
one  is  prepared  to  read  their  significance  when  employed 
Kabalistically. 

The  following  table  may  aid  all  who  desire  familiarity 
with  the  outlines  of  the  subject. 


Nanie 

Equivalent 

Significance 

Numerical  Value 

Aleph 

A 

Ox 

I 

Beth 

B 

House 

2 

Gimel 

G 

Camel 

3 

Daleth 

D 

Door 

4 

He 

H 

Window 

% 

Vau 

V 

Peg  or  nail 

Zayiu 

Z 

Weapon  or  sword 

7 

Cheth 

CH 

Enclosure  or  fence 

8 

Teth 

T 

Serpent 

9 

Yod 

I 

Hand 

ID 

Caph 

K 

Palm  of  hand 

20 

Lamed 

L 

Ox-goad 

30 

Mem 

M 

Water 

40 

Nun 

N 

Fish 

t 

Samekh 

S 

Prop  or  support 

Ayin 

0 

Eye 

70 

Pe 

P 

Mouth 

80 

Tzaddi 

TZ 

Fishing-hook 

90 

Qoph 

Q 

Back  of  the  head 

100 

Resh 

R 

Head 

200 

Shin 

SH 

Tooth 

300 

Tan 

TH 

Sign  of  the  Cross 

400 

Thousands  are  denoted  by  a  letter  of  increased  size,  thus 
a  large  Aleph  signifies  not  one,  but  1,000.  In  stating  num- 
bers beyond  400  and  below  1,000  recourse  is  had  to  finals. 


The  Jewish  Kabala 


97 


Final  Caph  stands  for  500.  Final  Mem  for  600.  Final 
Nun  for  700.  Final  Pe  for  800.  Final  Tzaddi  for  900. 
Students  of  Kabala  declare  that  the  most  mystical 
and  highly  figurative  portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  no- 
tably the  books  of  Daniel  and  Ezekiel,  also  the  New  Testa- 
ment Apocalypse,  are  quite  intelligible  when  we  are  fur- 
nished with  the  Kabalistic  Key  though  without  it  the  in- 
tricate symbols  are,  to  the  bulk  of  readers,  meaningless  or 
else  suggestive  of  wild  and  lurid  fancies  such  as  are  fre- 
quently indulged  by  would-be  interpreters  whose  particular 
delight  is  in  predicting  awful  world-wide  catastrophies. 
[Among  European  mystics  of  a  recent  period  in  whose  eyes 
the  Kabala  has  appeared  extremely  sacred  may  be  mentioned 
Cornelius  Henry  Agrippa  the  famous  philosopher  and  phy- 
sician (1486-1535),  John  Baptist  von  Helmont  the  remark- 
able chemist  (1577-1644),  Robert  Fludd  (1574-1637), 
Dr.  Henry  More  (1614-1687).  These  highly  learned  and 
profoundly  philosophic  men  have  eulogized  the  Kabala  in 
the  strongest  and  most  enthusiastic  terms  displaying  their 
glad  acceptance  of  its  claim  to  a  Divine  origin.  The 
story  of  the  Kabala  is  an  intensely  romantic  one  and  one 
that  taxes  the  credulity  of  modern  scholars  to  almost  the 
breaking  point.  After  man's  fall  from  primitive  innocence 
into  a  state  of  partial  alienation  from  God,  though  there 
was  no  longer  such  close  communion  of  earth  with  heaven 
as  had  been  enjoyed  in  the  primitive  age  of  man's  sojourn 
on  this  planet,  the  angels  of  the  Theosophic  school  in  Par- 
adise who  were  the  custodians  of  the  celestial  truths  re- 
vealed in  the  Kabala,  graciously  arranged  to  communicate 
them  through  chosen  instruments  on  earth  for  the  ultimate 
good  of  all  humanity.  These  angels  appointed  or  selected 
certain  men  as  *' Protoplasts  "  beginning  with  Adam  and 


98  Universal  Spiritualism 

extending,  through  Noah  to  Abraham,  who  is  said  to  have 
emigrated  to  Egypt  where  he  allowed  a  certain  portion  of 
the  mysterious  doctrine  to  become  approximately  public. 
Moses,  we  are  distinctly  told  in  the  Bible,  was  learned  in 
all,  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  but  though  he  imbibed 
much  instruction  in  the  land  of  his  birth,  tradition  states 
that  it  was  only  during  forty  years  wandering  in  a  wilder- 
ness, and  by  means  of  instruction  specially  imparted  by  an 
angel,  that  he  became  qualified  to  take  the  exalted  place 
among  seers  and  sages  which  he  has  occupied  for  so  many 
centuries  in  the  estimation  of  a  vast  number  of  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles. 

When  considering  the  interviews  of  Moses  with  the  Angel 
we  are  soon  led  on  to  familiar  Spiritualistic  ground,  and  it 
seems  impossible  to  attach  any  literal  significance  whatever 
to  much  of  the  Bible  narrative  without  indorsing  the  sim- 
ple theory  that  an  angel  is  a  spiritual  messenger  qualified 
and  commissioned  to  impart  instruction  to  selected  pupils. 

In  four  out  of  the  five  books  which  constitute  the 
Pentateuch,  it  is  said  that  the  esoteric  doctrine  which 
Moses  imparted  to  the  sacred  seventy  elders  is  contained, 
but  it  is  absent  from  Deuteronomy.  We  are  further  told 
by  traditional  authorities,  that  David  and  Solomon  carried 
on  an  unbroken  line  of  Kabalistic  tradition,  but  Kabala 
was  not  committed  to  ordinary  writing  until  the  days  of 
Schimlon  Ben  Jochai  who  lived  during  the  period  of  the 
destruction  of  the  second  temple  in  Jerusalem.  Rabbi 
Eleazar,  his  son,  with  the  assistance  of  Rabbi  Abha,  his 
secretary,  and  some  of  his  disciples,  collated  the  treatises 
of  Schimlon  Ben  Jochai  and  composed  out  of  them  the 
celebrated  Zohar,  a  title  meaning  splendor.  The  Kabala 
is  visually  divided  into  four  sections :   Practical,  Literal, 


The  Jewish  Kabala 


99 


Unwritten,  Dogmatic.  The  practical  portion  deals  with 
talismans  and  the  general  details  of  ceremonial  magic. 
This  is  kept  very  secret  and  is  not  considered  edifying  for 
the  multitude.  The  other  sections  known  as  the  esoteric 
significance  of  the  Law  are  considered  highly  profitable  for 
Rabbinical  edification,  and  through  the  Rabbis  the  congre- 
gation of  Israel  can  be  enlightened,  and  through  Israel 
eventually  all  Gentile  nations  may  be  made  recipients  of 
universal  wisdom. 

The  principal  doctrines  of  the  Kabala  are  designed  to 
solve  every  problem  in  the  universe  beginning  with  the 
nature  and  attributes  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Cosmogony, 
the  creation  and  destiny  of  angels  and  men,  the  nature  of 
the  soul,  descriptions  of  demons  and  elementals,  the  import 
of  revealed  law,  the  transcendental  symbolism  of  numbers, 
the  mysteries  of  Hebrew  letters  and  the  ''  equilibrium  of 
contraries  "  are  some  of  the  principal  topics  dealt  with  in 
the  Kabala. 

The  ''  Book  of  Concealed  Mystery  "  deals  with  the  ''  equi- 
librium of  balance."  Equilibrium  is  said  to  be  "that 
harmony  which  results  from  the  analogy  of  contraries." 
It  is  the  central  point,  the  '' point  within  the  circle  "  of 
ancient  symbolism,  the  living  synthesis  of  counter-balanced 
power.  Eliphas  Levi,  an  eminent  Kabalist  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  says  in  his  ''History  of  Magic"  that 
Kabalists  have  a  horror  of  whatever  savors  of  idolatry ;  they 
however  ascribe  the  human  form  to  God,  but  only  hiero- 
glyphically. 

The  Kabalistic  definition  of  Deity  is  '' the  intelligent, 
living,  loving,  Infinite  One."  God  is  in  all,  but  disthict 
from  all,  immanent  but  not  inherent  in  the  manifested 
universe.     The  Kabalistic  idea  of  a  trinity  as  a  manifesta* 


loo  Universal  Spiritualism 

tion  of  Deity  is  of  Kether  (Crown)  Chokmah  (King) 
Binah  (Queen).  The  universe  is  spoken  of  as  *'born 
from  the  union  of  the  crowned  King  and  Queen."  Before 
the  complete  form  of  the  Heavenly  Man  (the  lo  Sephiroth) 
was  produced  primordial  worlds  were  created,  but  they 
could  not  very  long  subsist  because  the  equilibrium  of  bal- 
ance was  not  perfect.  These  are  called  **  Kings  of  ancient 
time "  and  "  Kings  of  Edom  who  reigned  before  the 
monarchs  of  Israel."  Edom  means  a  world  of  unbalanced 
force ;  Israel  signifies  the  balanced  Sephiroth. 

The  archetypal  world  (Olahm  Atziloth)  gave  birth  to 
three  other  worlds  in  a  descending  or  decreasing  scale  of 
brightness.  The  second  world  is  termed  Olahm  Ha-Briah 
or  world  of  creation,  an  immediate  emanation  from  the 
first,  a  realm  of  pure  spirit.  The  third  world  is  called 
Olahm  Ha-Yetzirah,  the  world  of  formation  and  abode  of 
angels  who  are  draped  in  luminous  substance  and  who 
appear  in  human  form  when  they  communicate  with  men. 
The  fourth  world  is  designated  Olahm  Ha-Asiah  or  world 
of  action.  Here  are  to  be  found  the  Demons  or  ''  Shells  " 
which  are  the  grossest  and  most  deficient  of  all  exist- 
ences. There  are  ten  varieties  of  Demons  answering  to 
the  decade  of  the  Sephiroth,  but  in  inverse  ratio.  The 
Demons  have  a  prince  named  Samael,  the  original  of  Satan. 
Kabalists  lay  great  stress  upon  the  unpronounceableness  of 
the  true  name  of  Deity  by  the  multitude,  the  secret  of 
its  pronunciation  being  the  greatest  of  secrets  known  only 
to  a  very  few  illustrious  initiates. 

The  famous  saying,  "  He  who  rightly  pronounceth  the 
Divine  Name  causeth  heaven  and  earth  to  tremble,  for  this 
is  the  name  which  rusheth  throughout  the  Universe  "  ac- 
counts  for   the   fact  that  no   devout   orthodox  Jew  will 


The  Jewish  Kabala  loi 

attempt  to  pronounce  the  name  formed  from  the  sacred 
consonants  Yod,  Heth,  Vau,  Heth,  but  makes  a  slight 
pause  or  substitutes  Adonai,  which  is  customary  when  read- 
ing from  the  scrolls  in  synagogues.  The  ineffable  Name 
has  twelve  transpositions,  all  conveying  the  same  meaning, 
''to  be."  It  is  the  only  name  that  will  bear  so  many 
transpositions  without  involving  a  change  of  meaning. 

These  twelve  transpositions  are  called  ''  banners  of  the 
mighty  Name  "  and  have  a  reference  to  the  twelve  signs  of 
the  Zodiac  which  are  also  the  twelve  major  sections  into 
which  the  human  body  is  divisible. 

The  Sephiroth  of  the  Kabala  are  called  both  persons  and 
attributes  of  God,  some  of  which  are  male  and  some 
female,  for  no  Kabalist  ever  does  violence  to  the  central 
truth  of  the  equality  of  male  with  female  in  Divinity. 

The  clear  teaching  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  (vide, 
verses  26,  27,  28)  is  never  forsaken  for  a  false  interpreta- 
tion of  the  second  chapter  which  has  long  obscured  the 
true  idea  of  the  union  of  masculine  and  feminine  in  the 
eternal  Godhead  as  set  forth  in  all  esoteric  treatises. 
'While  we  cannot  possibly  understand  a  trinity  of  three  ex- 
clusively male  personages  at  the  root  of  a  creation  which 
displays  male  and  female  expressions  of  life  conjointly,  we 
can  in  some  measure  comprehend  the  idea  of  a  Divine 
Father  and  Mother  begetting  offspring.  In  the  Kabalah 
the  ''Ancient  of  Days "  is  expressed  as  Father  and 
Mother  and  thus  begets  the  Child.  In  Egypt  the  concept 
of  Osiris  and  Isis  begetting  Horus,  and  Horus  being  pre- 
sented for  contemplation  under  a  dual  aspect  of  son  and 
daughter,  agrees  exactly  with  the  entire  teaching  of  the 
Kabala  which  is,  in  main  features,  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  Hermetic  philosophy  which  at  one  time  had  its 


102  Universal  Spiritualism 

home  in  Egypt.  The  ten  Sephiroth  are  divided  into  three 
divisions  called  Pillars.  The  right-hand  pillar  is  Mercy  ; 
the  left-hand  pillar  is  Justice  or  Judgment ;  the  middle 
pillar  is  Mildness.  In  their  total  unity  the  ten  Sephiroth 
signify  the  Archetypal  Man,  Adam  Kadmon,  the  Protag- 
anos.  In  the  form  of  the  human  body  is  found  the  Te- 
tragrammaton.  The  sacred  letters  Yod,  Heth,  Vau,  Heth, 
are  distributed  as  follows  :  The  head  is  Yod ;  the  arms 
and  shoulders  are  the  first  Heth ;  the  trunk  of  the  body  is 
Vau  ;  the  lower  limbs  are  the  second  Heth.  In  consider- 
ing the  three  great  divisions  of  the  inner  Hfe  of  humanity — 
Neshamah,  Ruach,  Nephesh  —  the  first  is  the  spiritual 
realm,  the  second  the  rational,  the  third  the  sensuous. 
All  souls  are  declared  preexistent  in  the  archetypal  world 
and  are  in  their  original  state  androgynous,  but  when  in- 
carnate upon  earth  they  are  separated  into  male  and  female 
and  inhabit  different  bodies.  The  doctrine  of  counter- 
parts is  clearly  taught  in  the  Kabala,  but  there  is  no  sug- 
gestion given  anywhere  that  one  expression  of  the  soul — 
male  or  female — is  any  sense  superior  or  inferior  to  the 
other. 

Eliphas  Levi  in  his  dissertations  upon  the  Kabala  drew 
the  following  inferences  concerning  the  nature  of  the  soul. 
The  soul  is  a  veiled  light ;  this  light  is  triple.  Neshamah 
is  pure  spirit ;  Ruach  is  the  rational  soul ;  Nephesh  is  the 
plastic  vehicle.  Nephesh  is  immortal  only  through  de- 
struction and  renewal  of  forms.  Ruach  progresses  through 
the  evolution  of  ideas.  Neshamah  is  without  forgetfulness 
and  not  susceptible  to  dissolution.  The  book  of  Ecclesi- 
astes  read  in  the  light  of  the  Kabala  no  longer  appears  sad 
or  pessimistic  for  the  various  questions  it  raises  and  the 
statements  it  makes  are  all  intelligible  and  acceptable  when 


The  Jewish  Kabala  103 

we  are  aware  of  the  differing  planes  of  consciousness  and 
states  of  existence  to  which  the  analytical  preacher  so 
searchingly  refers.  Souls  when  perfected  on  earth  pass  to 
ether  planets  and  eventually  they  reach  the  sun ;  then 
they  ascend  to  a  superior  universe  and  begin  another 
career  from  planet  to  planet  and  from  sun  to  sun.  In  the 
suns  they  remember  all  their  experiences,  but  in  the  planets 
they  seemingly  forget.  Solar  lives  are  days  of  eternal  life 
and  planetary  lives  are  nights  in  which  the  soul  dreams. 
Angels  are  luminous  emanations  personified  by  divine  in- 
fluence and  reflex.  .  .  .  Angels  desire  to  become  men 
for  the  perfect  man  is  above  all  angels.  Planetary  lives 
are  composed  of  ten  dreams  each  lasting  for  one  hundred 
years.  Each  solar  life  lasts  one  thousand  years,  therefore 
is  it  said  that  in  God's  sight  one  thousand  years  is  as  one 
day.  Every  "  week,"  /.  e.,  every  fourteen  thousand  years 
the  soul  ''bathes  itself  and  reposes  in  the  jubilee  dream." 
On  awaking  from  which  it  remembers  only  good,  for  good 
alone  is  worthy  of  remembrance.  Spinoza  was  a  deep 
student  of  the  Kabala  and  in  his  Ethics  summed  up  its 
teachings  with  much  insight  and  ability.  Among  Spinoza's 
definitions  the  following  are  especially  luminous :  **By 
the  Being  who  is  the  Cause  and  Governor  of  all  things,  I 
understand  AinSoph  (Supreme  Wisdom)  infinite,  without 
attributes."  "By  Sephiroth,  I  understand  the  potencies 
which  emanate  from  the  Absolute,  all  entities  limited  by 
quantity."  ''AinSoph  is  both  immanent  and  transcend- 
ent." "The  Sephiroth  are  emanations  not  creations." 
"  As  AinSoph  is  perfect  the  Sephiroth  proceeding  there- 
from must  also  be  perfect."  The  great  mystery  of  Ma- 
croprosopus  and  Microposopus,  the  greatest  and  least 
countenances,   is  elaborately  treated  in  the  Book  of  Con- 


104  Universal  Spiritualism 

cealed  Mystery  which  few  modern  scholars  attempt  to  ex- 
plain though,  to  all  who  are  disposed  to  search  for  profound 
verities  below  the  surface  or  behind  the  veil  of  archaic 
symbolism,  jt  is  a  treasure-house  of  wisdom  rich  beyond 
compare.  (In  the  books  of  Greater  and  Lesser  Holy  As- 
sembly studious  Christians  will  find  the  roots  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  and  indeed  of  practically  all  the  mystic 
doctrines  which  the  esoteric  Christian  Church  has  dogmat- 
ically formulated,  insisting  upon  their  acceptance  by  the 
multitude  to  whom  they  are  indeed  unexplained  and  seem- 
ingly inexplicable  mysteries.  The  great  offense  of  dogmatic 
theologians  has  been  the  persistence  with  which  they  have 
forced  dogmas  upon  the  masses  as  necessary  to  salvation 
while  the  Kabala  only  sets  forth  propositions  and  condemns 
no  one  who  fails  to  comprehend  them.  The  ^' Three 
Heads  "  are  alluded  to  frequently  in  the  Kabala  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  surmise  from  what  source  the  Athanasian 
fathers  derived  their  precise  definitions  concerning  a 
trinity  of  persons  though  God  is  absolute  unity. 

How  widely  different  is  the  Kabalistic  view  from  the 
perverted  doctrine  which  multitudes  of  Christians  have 
unthinkingly  accepted  on  the  basis  of  alleged  authority  is 
clearly  evident  when  we  find  in  the  Kabala  no  threats  of 
damnation  for  those  who  fail  to  perceive  a  truth  veiled  in 
august  mystery,  but  only  a  statement  is  made  that  as  the 
soul  advances  in  enlightenment  it  comes  to  perceive  a  truth 
''  hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

Were  the  Anthanasian  creed  revised  by  enlightened 
Kabalists  its  so-called  ^'damnatory"  clauses  would  be 
greatly  changed,  for  instead  of  implying  that  souls  "  perisli 
everlastingly"  if  they  do  not  endorse  a  mysterious  doc- 
trine, the   Kabala   declares  that    as  man  becomes  increas- 


The  Jewish  Kabala 


105 


ingly  illumined  or  regenerate  he  gradually  comes  to  an  un- 
derstanding of  mystic  verities,  the  knowledge  of  which  is 
an  evidence  of  an  advanced  stage  in  the  progress  of  illu- 
mination or  regeneration.  There  is  no  perdition  taught  in 
the  Kabala,  but  on  the  contrary  only  a  continual  rising  of 
the  soul  from  sphere  to  sphere,  casting  off  error  and  re- 
taining truth  alone.  Enigmatical  the  language  of  the 
Kabala  may  be,  cruel  and  unreasonable  it  decidedly  is  not. 
As  Swedenborg  in  his  voluminous  treatises  revived  the 
similitude  of  the  Human  Form  as  the  form  of  all  the 
heavens,  and  his  theological  works,  in  particular,  are  in- 
dustriously circulated  by  his  admirers  to-day,  the  language 
of  the  Kabala  is  gradually  becoming  measurably  familiar 
to  the  general  public.  We  have  no  space  in  this  volume 
for  further  discussion  of  it,  but  we  commend  a  perusal  of 
this  marvelous  and  fascinating  literature  to  all  students 
who  have  leisure  and  disposition  to  peer  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  familiar  Scripture,  to  divine  the  deeper  truths 
which  long  have  been  veiled  beneath  the  guise  of  seem- 
ingly but  doubtful  ancient  history. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PERSIAN  THEORIES  OF  THE  SOUL  AND 
ITS  DESTINATION 

Though  to-day  if  we  wish  to  learn  of  Parseeism,  the 
origin  of  which  is  attributed  to  Zoroaster,  we  must  visit 
India  rather  than  Persia,  and  seek  for  information  in  Bom- 
bay, where  a  famous  Parsee  colony  has  enjoyed  an  un- 
broken continuity  of  existence  for  over  1,200  years,  it  is  to 
a  still  remoter  period  than  that  which  marks  the  founda- 
tion of  that  ancient  and  venerable  colony  that  we  must 
turn  if  we  would  inspect  any  of  the  roots  of  the  still  flow- 
ering tree  of  Parseeism,  a  religion  which  disputes  the 
palm  for  antiquity  with  even  its  eldest  contemporaries. 
The  story  of  Zoroaster,  the  reputed  founder  of  the  Parsee 
faith,  is  veiled  in  considerable  mystery,  and  until  quite 
recently  scholars  have  had  much  difficulty  in  attempting 
to  reconcile  seemingly  conflicting  dates,  which  have  been 
found  so  divergent  as  to  prove  ultimately  irreconcilable  on 
any  basis  of  belief  that  there  has  been  but  one  great  teacher 
in  all  time  who  has  borne  the  title  of  Zoroaster,  as  his 
period  has  been  placed  as  early  as  the  days  of  the  Jewish 
Abraham  and  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Greek  Pythagoras. 
It  is  now  beginning  to  be  understood  that  there  has  been  a 
long  line  of  highly  enlightened  spiritual  teachers,  running 
through  the  ages,  and  that  Zoroaster  is  a  title  of  dignity 
rather  than  a  proper  name. 

That  very  instructive  writer  and  lecturer  on  theosophy, 
Annie  Besant,  has  in  one  of  her  many  books,  *'  Four  Great 

106 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  107 

Religions,"  sought  to  explain  how  one  after  another,  as 
the  ages  have  rolled  by,  highly  illumined  teachers  have 
appeared  on  the  stage  of  the  world's  great  theatre  and  im- 
parted instruction  specially  adapted  to  the  times  and  places 
when  and  where  they  have  ministered,  then  left  the  good 
seed  they  had  sown  and  watered  to  germinate  and  bear 
fruit,  which  it  always  does  at  the  end  of  a  cycle,  at  which 
time  there  is  demand  for  another  great  enlightener  who 
comes  in  his  turn  as  his  predecessors  have  come  and  gone 
before  him. 

According  to  this  theory,   which    is  authenticated  by 
almost  universal  testimony  furnished   by  students  of  the 
Mysteries  the  wide  world  over,  we  have  swept  away  the 
major    portion   of    the    perplexing    difficulty   concerning 
Zoroaster  and  have  found  that  Parseeism  is  founded,  like 
many  other  ancient  systems  of  religion   and   philosophy, 
(not  upon  one  sole  teacher  but  upon  a  succession  of  spiritual 
ienlighteners   who,   according  to   universal   theosophy,  are 
/commissioned  by  celestial  guardians  of  this  planet's  destiny 
Ito  convey  to  a  special  section  of  this  earth's  inhabitants 
isuch  portions  and  aspects  of  heavenly  wisdom  as  they  are 
^ready  to  receive,  assimilate  and  propagate.     Though  Par- 
seeism is  not  an  ideal  system  as  we  find  it  expounded  by 
its  best  known  modern  exponents,   and  some  of  its  doc- 
trines, as  set  forth  by  its  appointed  delegate  from  Bombay 
at  the  World's  Parliament  of  Religions  held  in  Chicago  in 
1893,  seem  inferior  to  the  highest  inculcations  of  prophetic 
Judaism  and  Christian  Universalism,  we  must  admit  that 
the   sacred    books   of    the    Parsees   termed    Zend-Avesta 
abound  in  excellent  teachings,  and  also  present  a  view  of 
good  and  evil  far  more  reasonable  than  that  which  over- 
spread  beclouded   Europe  in  the  mediaeval  period,  and 


io8  Universal  Spiritualism 

which  still  survives  as  a  blighting  element  in  orthodox 
phases  of  Christianity. 

We  hear  and  read  much  of  dualism  whenever  we  hear 
of  the  Parsee  or  Iranian  religion,  but  the  dualistic  theories 
of  all  Zoroastrians  are  resolvable  into  an  original  and  ulti- 
mate monism,  because  the  contending  forces  of  good  and 
evil,  even  when  these  are  personified  in  their  respective 
fountain-heads,  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman,  are  only  finite  and 
temporal.  There  is  no  such  absurd  belief  as  faith  in 
sempiternal  evil  in  the  Parsee  creed  or  doctrine,  for  it 
teaches  that  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman  are  brothers  who  have 
had  a  dispute  and  are  now  engaged  in  works  of  diametric- 
ally opposite  character,  but  as  the  two  sprang  from  one 
source  so  they  will  return  to  the  state  of  harmony  which 
was  originally  their  blissful  portion  and  from  which  they 
have  fallen,  not  everlastingly,  but  only  for  a  limited  pe- 
riod. 

The  Persian  Ahriman  and  the  Hebrew  Satan  (Accuser) 
are  so  practically  identical  that  we  may  well  discover 
traces  of  Parseeism  in  the  book  of  Job,  one  of  the  most 
instructive  and  comforting  of  all  the  books  which  make  up 
the  Hebrew  Bible.  This  book  of  Job  commended  itself 
very  largely  to  the  sympathies  of  Thomas  Paine,  who 
alludes  to  it  in  a  friendly  spirit  in  that  much  abused 
treatise,  ''The  Age  of  Reason,"  which  contains  many  as- 
saults upon  much  that  the  Bible  contains  but  never  calls 
in  question  the  unity  of  God  or  denies  a  good  hope  of 
human  immortality. 

If  Milton  when  he  wrote  ''Paradise  Lost "  was  not 
familiar  with  the  Zend-Avesta,  he  at  least  shows  famiharity 
with  much  of  its  incidental  teaching,  though  the  English 
poet  never  rose  high  enough  in  his  theology  to  reach  the 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  109 

spiritual  altitudes  which  are  the  peaks  and  crowns  of  the 
Zoroastrian  faith.  The  Christian  apostle  Paul,  who  was  a 
classic  as  well  as  Hebrew  scholar,  shows  much  familiarity 
with  the  essentials  of  the  Iranian  as  well  as  of  the  Egyptian 
religion  in  his  noblest  utterances,  for  after  having  con- 
ceded to  the  ''powers  of  darkness"  all  that  any  well -in- 
structed Parsee  would  attempt  to  claim,  he  launches  forth 
into  those  glorious  and  magnificent  declarations  of  faith  in 
the  perfect  triumph  of  infinite  goodness  which  are  simply 
paralyzing  to  all  believers  in  the  possibility  of  the  ultimate 
victory  being  gained,  even  in  a  single  instance,  by  any 
spirit  which  opposes  itself  to  the  rule  of  the  perfect  right- 
eousness which  dwells  at  the  centre  of  the  universe. 

Even  Robert  Browning's  perfect  optimism  as  expressed 
in  ''  Abt  Vogler  "  is  none  too  grand  for  a  consistent  Parsee 
to  endorse,  for  should  one  make  an  earnest  and  searching 
study  of  the  Zend-Avesta  he  might  well  rise  from  his  re- 
searches with  the  jubilant  exclamation  on  his  lips,  *'  There 
shall  never  be  one  lost  good,  and  for  evil  so  much  good 
more."  Browning  may  speak  of  a  few  "musicians  "  into 
whose  ears  divine  secrets  are  specially  whispered,  but  who  are 
those  sublimely  privileged  and  singularly  enlightened  ones 
but  they  who  have  learned  the  mighty  lesson  of  transmuta^ 
tion,  and  have  indeed  resolved  discords  into  harmonies, 
thereby  proving  that  evil  is  only  misplaced  good,  that  evil 
is  a  state  or  condition  only,  never  a  fundamental  reality  or 
an  essential  of  universal  life. 

Quite  a  number  of  modern  metaphysicians  would  be 
helped  to  greater  clarity  of  statement  if  they  would  study 
the  Parsee  doctrine  which,  when  rescued  from  degenerate 
accretions,  is  found  to  be  an  ambitious,  and  by  no  means 
unsuccessful,  attempt  to  explain  the  origin,   nature  and 


110  Universal  Spiritualism 

destiny  of  relative  discord  in  a  universe  which  is  absolutely 
good  at  core  and  in  essence. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  antiquity  of  the  fame  of 
Zoroaster  we  have  only  to  be  reminded  that  PHny,  agree- 
ing with  Aristotle,  asserts  that  Zoroaster  flourished  6,000 
years  before  Plato.  Gibbon,  Volney,  and  many  other  dis- 
tinguished historians  concur  largely  in  this  view,  which, 
as  we  have  already  intimated,  is  easily  accepted  on  the 
basis  suggested  by  Annie  Besant  and  other  theosophical  in- 
terpreters; for  when  we  consider  that  several  illustrious 
teachers  have  borne  the  same  high  appellation  among  the 
followers  of  the  doctrines  they  proclaimed,  we  should  not 
be  staggered  if  we  discovered  statements  to  the  effect  that 
Zoroaster  lived  even  100,000  years  ago,  perchance  in  the 
mighty  island-continent  Atlantis,  which  was  probably  in 
the  height  of  its  glory  while  the  lands  we  now  call  ancient 
were  resting  beneath  the  ocean  waves,  precisely  as  Atlantis 
is  now  slumbering.  Many  historians  have  assigned  Zoro- 
aster to  a  period  as  recent  as  about  700  b.  c,  when  no  doubt 
some  great  enlightenment  came  to  the  Iranians  and  a  revival 
of  ancient  wisdom  took  place  among  them,  led  by  a  special 
master-guide.  However  ancient  may  have  been  its  origin, 
or  however  comparatively  modern,  it  is  certain  that 
Parseeism  flourished  in  the  Babylonian  Empire  and  that 
Judaism  was  largely  tinctured  with  it  during  the  time  of 
the  Babylonian  Exile. 

Portions  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  were  undoubtedly  written 
after  the  Jews  had  returned  from  Babylon  to  Palestine,  and 
the  author  who  is  often  styled  **  the  second  Isaiah  "  (vide 
Isaiah  45)  protested  vehemently  against  the  infiltration  of 
Babylonian  doctrines  into  the  Jewish  creed,  at  least  in  so 
far  as  those  tenets  were  out  of  harmony  with  the  simple 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  1 1 1 

faith  of  ancient  Israel,  which  admitted  no  rival  with  God 
upon  the  throne  of  the  universe.  Though  much  of  the 
ancient  history  of  Zoroastrianism  may  be  draped  in  un- 
certainty, scholars  have  not  encountered  anything  like 
insuperable  difficulties  in  their  endeavors  to  trace  the 
history  of  the  Parsee  faith  during  the  Christian  era. 

Max  Miiller — whose  monumental  contributions  to  the 
science  of  comparative  religion  and  philology  entitle  him  to 
rank  among  the  very  greatest  scholars  of  the  nineteenth 
century — has  thrown  much  light  on  this  interesting  subject 
in  the  course  of  his  elaborate  commentaries  upon  the 
various  sacred  writings  of  the  East,  and  to  his  voluminous 
and  fascinating  works  we  advise  all  of  our  readers  to  turn 
who  have  both  desire  and  leisure  to  pursue  their  studies  to 
a  far  greater  length  than  is  possible  for  those  whose  occu- 
pation is  such  that  they  can  only  find  time  for  a  study  of 
the  briefest  condensations.  For  our  immediate  purpose  we 
need  only  refer  to  a  few  important  facts  which  throw  light 
upon  the  special  subject  we  are  now  considering.  In  the 
fourth  century  b.  c,  Alexander  of  Macedon  overran  the 
Persian  Empire  and  with  his  rule  the  old  faith  and  ritual 
declined  or  became  obscure.  In  the  following  centuries 
this  decadence  became  more  and  more  marked,  and  it  was 
not  till  about  700  years  later  that  a  great  revival  of 
Parseeism  occurred  ;  this  was  in  the  days  of  Ardeshir,  who 
overthrew  the  Parthian  dominion  in  Persia  and  established 
the  Sassanian  dynasty.  To  quote  the  words  of  William 
Alger,  "  One  of  his  first  acts  was,  stimulated  doubtless  by 
the  surviving  Magi  and  the  old  piety  of  the  people,  to 
reinaugurate  the  ancient  religion.  A  fresh  zeal  of  loyalty 
broke  out,  and  all  the  prestige  and  vigor  of  the  long- 
suppressed  worship  were  restored." 


1 1 2  Universal  Spiritualism 

The  Zoroastrian  Scriptures  were  now  sought  for,  whether 
in  manuscript  or  in  the  memories  of  the  priests.  It  would 
seem  that  only  remnants  were  found.  The  collection,  such 
as  it  was,  was  in  the  Avestan  dialect,  which  had  grown 
partially  obsolete  and  unintelligible.  The  authorities  ac- 
cordingly had  a  translation  made  of  it  in  the  speech  of 
the  time,  Tehlevi.  This  translation — most  of  which  has 
reached  us  written  in  the  original,  sentence  after  sentence 
— forms  the  real  Zend  language,  often  confounded  by  the 
literary  public  with  Avestan.  The  translation  of  the 
Avestan  books,  probably  made  under  these  circumstances 
as  early  as  350  a.  d.  is  called  the  <'  Huzva-resch."  It 
is  probably  from  this  source  rather  than  from  one  of 
greater  antiquity  that  floating  theories  concerning  the 
original  Parsee  faith  are  commonly  drawn,  therefore  it 
would  be  unwise  to  speak  dogmatically,  when  scanning 
such  translations,  concerning  the  highest  and  purest  con- 
cepts of  a  remote  original. 

To  quote  once  more  from  William  Alger,  ''The  source 
from  which  the  fullest  and  clearest  knowledge  of  the  Zoro- 
astrian faith,  as  it  is  now  held  by  the  Parsees,  is  drawn,  is 
the  Desatir  and  the  Bundehesh.  The  former  work  is  the 
unique  vestige  of  an  extinct  dialect  called  the  Mahabadian, 
accompanied  by  a  Persian  translation  and  commentary. 
It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  century  when  the  Mahaba- 
dian text  was  written  :  but  the  translation  into  Persian  was, 
most  probably,  in  the  seventh  century  of  the  present  era." 
After  descanting  upon  the  improbability  that  those  specula- 
tions are  well-founded  which  seek  to  attribute  the  teach- 
ings of  modern  Parseeism  to  Jewish,  Christian,  or  even 
later  Mohammedan  origins,  Dr.  Alger  proceeds  to  summar- 
ize the  tenets  of  Magian  theology  and  from  that  summary 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul 


113 


('<  A  Critical  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life," 
pages  133  et  seq.)  we  have  compiled  the  following  ex- 
tremely abbreviated  narrative.  In  the  deep  background  of 
Magian  theology  there  looms  belief  in  an  infinite  first 
Principle-Zeruana  Akerana,  the  meaning  of  which  is  Ab- 
solute Duration  or  Indivisible  One.  But  the  beginning  of 
vital  theology  furnishing  the  actual  ethics  of  Zoroastrian- 
ism  is  the  idea  of  the  antagonistic  forces — Ormuzd  and 
Ahriman — which  constitute  the  first  emanation  from  the 
Absolute.  These  are  said  to  divide  between  them  the  un- 
resting striving  of  the  universe.  Ormuzd  is  the  principle 
of  light ;  Ahriman  is  the  principle  of  darkness.  From  Or- 
muzd proceed  all  virtue  and  all  beauty;  from  Ahriman 
proceed  all  wickedness  and  deformity.  There  is  some 
dispute  as  to  whether  these  antagonistic  powers  have  al- 
ways been  at  variance ;  different  views  have  doubtless  pre- 
vailed at  different  times,  the  more  pessimistic  theories  be- 
longing, no  doubt,  to  an  age  of  spiritual  declension  and 
mental  obscuration,  the  more  optimistic  ground  having 
been  always  taken  by  the  more  enlightened  in  intellect  and 
the  more  advanced  in  spirituality  among  the  numerous  ex- 
ponents of  Zoroastrianism  who  have  risen  from  age  to  age,  all 
claiming  to  interpret  the  original  faith  no  matter  how 
widely,  in  some  instances,  their  commentaries  may  have 
departed  from  it. 

Dr.  Alger  holds  to  the  view  entertained  by  clear-sighted 
students  in  general  and  emphasized  most  powerfully  and 
beautifully  by  Marie  Caithness,  Duchesse  de  Pomar,  in  her 
splendid  treatise,  **  The  Mystery  of  the  Ages,  Contained  in 
the  Secret  Doctrine  of  All  Religions,"  in  which  valuable 
volume  we  are  informed,  on  the  basis  of  deep  spiritual  in- 
sight  coupled  with  profound  scholarly  research,  that  un- 


1  14  Universal  Spiritualism 

corrupted  Parseeism  teaches  that  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman  are 
indeed  true  brothers,  originally  harmonious,  but  during  a 
long  age  called  a  Gahambar  they  are  in  a  state  of  active 
antagonism,  though  when  the  cycle  ends  they  will  become 
fully  reconciled,  then  Pralaya  or  the  Golden  Age  will  re- 
sult from  their  return  to  harmony. 

Dr.  Alger  does  not  omit  to  trace  the  close  connection 
which  certainly  exists  between  Ahriman  and  the  Satan  of 
the  book  of  Job,  which  is  a  splendid  epic  poem,  intended 
to  set  forth  the  glorious  ancient  doctrine  that  no  spirit  of 
evil  in  reality  exists,  as  Satan  (or  the  Accusing  Angel)  is 
only  a  messenger  of  Heaven  and  receives  a  commission 
from  the  Most  High,  or  he  could  work  nothing  among 
the  inhabitants  of  earth.  Job  personifies  the  typical 
human  soul,  individualized  in  every  human  being,  and  as 
the  poetic  narrative  most  clearly  shows,  its  author's  object 
was  to  convince  all  readers  that  nothing  befalls  humanity 
except  for  ultimate  good  and  when  we  see  what  looks  to  us 
like  unmitigated  disaster  we  are,  in  our  temporary  blind- 
ness, misinterpreting  some  perplexing  phenomena  which 
will  yet  be  explained  to  us  as  a  part  of  our  education,  a 
means  of  discipline  the  outcome  of  which  will  be  a  glorious 
and  wonderful  enlightenment,  impossible  of  achievement 
except  through  its  seemingly  evil  though,  in  reality,  benig- 
nant agency. 

The  Parsee  delegate  at  the  World's  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions had  no  hesitation  in  telling  the  multitudes  who 
heard  his  speech  or  read  the  published  report  of  it,  that 
Parsees  to-day  believe  that  every  noxious  creature  and 
poisonous  plant  is  the  work  of  Ahriman,  while  all  that  is 
amiable  and  wholesome  is  the  work  of  Ormuzd.  This  is 
-an  easy  disposition  of  phenomena,  and  it  may  not  be  an 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  115 

incorrect  stalement,  but  even  though  Ormuzd  and  Ahri- 
man  have  each  created  a  multitude  of  emissaries  and  sent 
them  forth  to  people  this  material  globe,  the  ultimate  ques- 
tion of  the  final  outworking  of  all  for  good  remains  quite 
undisturbed.  All  that  we  have  need  to  consider,  even  if  we 
accept  this  popular  version  of  Parsee  doctrine,  is  a  method 
by  means  of  which  the  goal  is  reached,  the  object  finally 
accomplished. 

/I'he  Parsees'  teaching  that  every  soul  embodied  on  earth 
is  attended  by  a  light  and  dark  unseen  attendant,  (a  ferver 
and  a  dev)  and  that  every  star  is  peopled  with  spirits  of 
light  and  darkness,  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  almost 
;universal  opinion  of  mankind,  though  such  a  doctrine  is 
easily  subject  to  so  much  rational  modification  that  it  may 
eventually  be  accepted,  as  already  taught  in  many  schools 
•of  theosophy,  only  in  the  sense  that  light  is  positive  and 
j  symbolizes  wisdom,  while  darkness  is  negative  and  symbol- 
izes ignorance.  Gerald  Massey '  s  able  pamphlet, ' '  The  Devil 
of  Darkness,"  bears  a  title  which  throws  much  light  on  the 
primal  question  which  still  sorely  perplexes  the  bulk  of  en- 
quirers into  the  nature  of  the  universe — Whence  cometh 
evil  ?  We  cannot  falter  in  our  own  allegiance  to  the  blessed 
concept  that  absolutely  good  is  all  hi  all,  and  we  find 
nothing,  even  in  Persian  Dualism,  to  shake  our  confidence 
in  the  truth  of  that  mighty  declaration,  nor  do  we  discover 
any  historic  evidence  that  any  truly  illumined  teacher  ever 
taught  the  contrary.  Only  a  corrupted  priesthood  allied 
'with  a  similarly  corrupted  temporal  power  ever  invented 
the  false,  hideous,  irrational  dogma  of  an  endless,  and  there- 
fore useless,  hell  together  with  the  insane  and  frightful  no- 
tion that  God  was  an  angry  tyrant  who  doomed  a  large 
portion  of  his  own  creation  to  everlasting  misery.     The 


li6  Universal  Spiritualism 

nightmare  theology  which  seeks  to  enslave  and  terrify  the 
world  with  such  atrocious  fictions  may  have  its  origin  in 
the  dark  land  of  shades,  in  which  the  unenhghtened  dwell 
until  they  have  risen  out  of  the  murky  shadows  in  which 
their  ignorance  and  ill-will  may  have  plunged  them ;  but 
never  once  has  a  radiant  messenger  from  any  sphere  of 
light  suggested  anything  to  humanity  which  casts  a  slur  on 
the  character  of  the  Almighty,  or  that  leads  sensitive 
natures  to  despair,  while  it  arouses  the  worst  passions  of  the 
cruel  and  the  relentless.  We  make  no  apology  for  con- 
demning the  doctrine  of  endless  or  perpetual  evil,  whether 
personified  or  not,  as  an  insult  to  intelligence  as  well  as  a 
flagrant  contradiction  of  all  that  enlightened  morality  is 
willing  to  accept.  That  there  are  unsolved  problems  and 
mighty  mysteries  in  the  universe  no  sane  thinker  will  for 
an  instant  dispute,  but  to  make  capital  out  of  these  for  the 
purpose  of  exploiting  a  doctrine  of  sempiternal  evil  is  a 
crime  against  humanity  and  an  insult  to  our  common  sense. 
The  precise  views  which  Zoroastrians  entertain  concern- 
ing the  future  life  are  rather  difficult  to  describe  in  limited 
space,  but  it  may  safely  be  decided  that  there  is  an  idea  of 
purgatory  among  them,  and  also  some  idea  of  hell,  though 
not  necessarily  any  idea  which  is  at  variance  with  the 
ultimate  salvation  of  every  spirit  in  the  universe.  Parsee- 
ism,  in  common  with  practically  every  other  religion,  teaches 
concerning  a  great  variety  of  states  or  conditions  in  the  workl 
beyond  death,  and,  as  Dante  has  taught  in  the  Divine 
Comedy,  if  it  take  four  or  five  centuries,  or  even  longer,  to 
purge  a  soul  from  the  dross  of  avarice,  envy,  or  any  other 
stain,  so  long  must  it  be  subjected  to  some  cleansing  dis- 
cipline called  "  purgatorial  fire."  -^  The  root  of  the  doctrine 
of  purgatory  is  found  in  all  religious  systems,  and  if  it  be 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul 


117 


separated  from  all  belief  in  damnation,  with  which  the 
thought  of  purgation  is  never  properly  allied,  it  may  well 
be  accepted  as  a  means  of  illustrating  the  consequences  of 
error,  and  the  purifying  ends  of  penalty. 

Having  already  taken  a  glance  at  Egyptian  eschatology, 
we  find  Persian  views  of  life  beyond  death  extremely 
similar  and  we  must  not  forget  that  after  the  overthrow  of 
the  Pharaonic  or  native  Egyptian  dynasty  Egypt  became 
/subject  to  Persia,  consequently  the  religious  beliefs  and 
j  symbols  of  both  nations  became  greatly  intermingled. 
I  The  bull,  always  greatly  venerated  in  ancient  Egypt,  looms 
large  upon  the  Persian  horizon,  the  origin  of  all  manifested 
life  being  presented  under  the  figure  of  that  powerful 
animal.  Among  Persian  practises  throwing  light  upon  the 
popular  belief  concerning  the  future  life,  is  the  ancient 
**  Festival  of  the  Dead,"  which  is  still  celebrated  by 
Parsees  during  the  last  five  days  of  every  year,  at  which 
season  it  is  believed  that  the  sinners  in  the  spirit-world  who 
are  undergoing  expiatory  penalties  proportioned  to  their 
offenses,  are  permitted  to  visit  their  relatives  and  friends 
who  are  yet  on  earth,  after  which  respite  those  who  are 
not  sufficiently  purified  to  pass  on  to  Paradise  must  re- 
turn to  '*  Dutsakh."  Annually,  it  is  taught,  "  Ormuzd 
empties  hell,"  and  at  this  great  solar  feast  (observed  by 
all  Occult  Societies  the  world  over,  which  can  boast  of 
any  respectable  antiquity)  multitudes  are  finally  released 
from  the  shadows  of  Hades  and  conducted  to  brighter 
realms  on  their  way  to  the  ultimate  bliss  of  Heaven. 
V  To  every  student  of  comparative  religion  who  is  not 
swayed  by  prejudice,  the  striking  similarity  of  one  creed  to 
another  must  prove  convincing  that  prevailing  Christian 
doctrines   are   all  derived  from  earlier  sources,  and  that 


1 1 8  Universal  Spiritualism 

this  is  the  case  the  gospel  narratives  themselves  most  clearly 
testify.  In  the  Apostle's  Creed  (usually  regarded  as  the 
oldest,  as  well  as  the  simplest  and  concisest,  of  all  the  creeds 
of  Christendom)  the  much-disputed  passage  (which  some 
Protestants  disapprove  of  and  omit),  "  He  descended  into 
hell,"  shows  unmistakably  the  complete  sympathy  which 
existed  between  primitive  Christianity,  which  was  highly 
eclectic,  and  other  older  and  widely  prevailing  faiths. 
j^'Again  do  we  insist  that  in  their  original  purity  or  sim- 
plicity all  religious  systems  taught  the  purification  of  de- 
parted souls,  through  suffering  indeed  whenever  such  is 
necessary,  but  never  final  extinction  or,  what  is  far  worse, 
endless  misery.  The  Parsees  of  old  declared  that  the 
present  order  of  the  world  was  fixed  at  12,000  years 
duration,  divided  into  four  equal  parts.  During  the  first 
three  thousand  years  Ormuzd  reigns  triumphantly,  during 
the  second  three  thousand  years  Ahriman  reigns.  The 
third  three  thousand  years  is  occupied  in  strife  between 
them,  and  the  fourth  three  thousand  years  is  to  be  a  period 
of  Ahriman 's  victory,  when  the  earth  will  be  the  scene  of 
all  manner  of  awful  tragedies.  This  dark  period  will, 
however,  be  triumphantly  overcome,  for  Ormuzd  will  rise 
in  majestic  might  and  put  a  complete  stop  to  all  calamities 
and  all  atrocities.  Ormuzd  will  send  to  earth  a  saviour, 
Gosiosch,  to  deliver  mankind  and  to  bring  the  arcn-enemy 
to  judgment.  Then  comes  the  resurrection,  when  all  the 
departed  will  reappear  and  friends  will  gladly  recognize 
each  other.  Great  difference  of  opinion  among  scholars 
still  prevails  as  to  the  exact  nature  of  the  resurrection,  but 
all  agree  that  Parseeism  teaches  individual  immortality. 

Every  doctrine  taught   in  Christendom  concerning  the 
disobedience  and  fall  of  man  can  be  found  paralleled  in 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  119 

Parseeism.  Though  it  seems  fairly  dear  that  Dualism  is 
inextricably  interwoven  with  the  Zoroastrian  faith,  Rawlin- 
son  argues — and  sustains  his  argument  by  powerful  proofs 
— that  the  Dualistic  doctrine  was  a  heresy  which  broke  out 
among  primitive  Aryans  who  were  the  ancestors  of  subse- 
quent Iranians  and  Indians.  It  is  contended,  almost 
universally,  that  the  Jewish  Scriptures  are  honey-combed 
'with  Persian  doctrines  but  the  only  book  in  the  Old 
Testament  which  lays  any  clear  stress  upon  the  doctrine  of 
resurrection  is  Daniel,  which  is  replete  with  Chaldean  and 
Persian  allusions.  This  apocalyptic  treatise  (which  the 
book  called  Revelation  or  Apocalypse  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment strongly  resembles)  is  usually  attributed  to  a  period 
not  earlier  than  200  b.  c.  The  spiritual  idea  of  the 
resurrection  which  prevailed  among  thoughtful  and  edu- 
cated Zoroastrians  in  the  days  of  the  famous  Plutarch  is 
clearly  shown  in  his  quotation  from  Theopompus  who  gives 
it  as  the  opinion  of  the  Magi  that  when  Ahriman  is  sub- 
dued and  men  are  restored  to  life  "  they  will  need  no 
nourishment  and  cast  no  shadow."  Such  is  undoubtedly 
the  original  Magian  doctrine  and  it  comports  well  with 
the  idea  of  a  purely  spiritual  body  not  dependent  upon 
material  elements  for  sustenance  and  not  subject  to  the 
limitations  of  time  and  space. 

Every  reader  is  doubtless  familiar  with  the  Towers  of 
Silence,  the  Parsee  burying  places,  and  many  travelers 
have  seen  them.  The  dead  body  is  not  permitted  to  be 
thrown  into  water  or  fire  or  to  be  buried  in  the  earth  lest  it 
contaminate  an  element,  it  is  therefore  placed  at  a  high 
elevation  above  the  ground  and  subjected  to  the  action  of 
birds  of  prey,  which  Parsees  believe  have  a  necessary 
mission  to  fulfil  and  are  properly  endowed  with  a  taste  for 


120  Universal  Spiritualism 

carrion.  The  dead  body  is  treated  with  no  indignity  by 
these  scrupulously  cleanly  people  who  make  cleanliness  an 
essential  part  of  their  religion.  Bodies  are  placed  in  dry, 
pure,  open  places  upon  a  summit  where  fresh  winds  blow 
and  the  vultures  which  devour  the  flesh,  leaving  the  bones 
completely  harmless,  are  accounted  sacred. 

Though  there  is  much  attributed  to  Parseeism  which  is 
not  altogether  charming,  a  stern  sense  of  justice,  coupled 
with  a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  righteousness  alone 
will  eventually  triumph,  runs  through  all  doctrines  which 
claim  Zoroaster  and  the  Zend-Avesta  for  their  source.  At 
the  time  of  judgment  a  complete  separation  will  be  made 
between  the  virtuous  and  the  vicious,  but  though  the  latter 
will  be  condemned  to  penal  sufferings  their  anguished  cries 
will  rise  to  heaven  and  find  pity  in  the  soul  of  Ormuzd, 
who  will  eventually  release  all  from  their  sufferings.  The 
awful  words  in  a  Christian  gospel,  attributed  to  Jesus, 
**  Depart  ye  cursed  into  everlasting  (aionian)  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels,"  though  by  no  means  delight- 
ful reading,  are  susceptible,  and  that  without  the  slightest 
straining,  of  a  reasonable  and  even  a  benevolent  meaning, 
for  we  have  a  right  to  challenge  theologians  to  debate  the 
question  :  For  what  purpose  is  the  fire  prepared  ?  Who 
shall  dare  to  deny  that  a  just  Deity  has  wisely  prepared  it 
for  the  express  purpose  of  purifying  and  enlightening  those 
who  are  unclean  and  dark  in  their  spiritual  condition  ? 
Fire  enters  largely  as  a  highly  expressive  symbol  into  all 
religions,  and  as  fire  accomplishes  on  earth  three  useful 
and  beneficent  ends — it  enlightens,  it  warms  and  it  puri- 
fies— we  have  not  the  slightest  right  or  reason  to  suppose 
that  Zoroaster,  Jesus,  or  any  enlightened  spiritual  teacher 
or  Messiah  at  any  time  in  the  world's  history,  ever  in- 


Persian  Theories  of  the  Soul  121 

tended  to  teach  any  other  doctrine  than  the  ultimate  en- 
lightenment and  purification  of  every  individual  spirit  in 
the  universe. 

Parseeism  is  essentially  in  union  with  Universalism,  and 
though  the  Universalists  of  to-day  would  probably  refuse 
to  endorse  a  good  deal  they  might  find  in  ancient  Parsee 
documents,  they  have  publicly  announced  in  two  great 
sentences,  included  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
American  Universalist  denomination,  their  complete 
agreement  with  the  essence  of  Zoroastrianism,  for  they  pro- 
fess belief  in  the  certahity  of  retribution,  and  the  fi)ial  har- 
mony of  all  souls  with  God.  Here  we  have  arrived  at  a 
complete  synthesis  of  acceptable  spiritual  philosophy  and 
no  matter  how  widely  some  of  us  may  differ  among  our- 
selves as  to  the  means  whereby  universal  harmony  may  be 
effected,  we  can  all  endorse  the  noble  sentiment  voiced  by 
Hosea  Ballou,  the  father  of  American  Universalism,  in  a 
still  popular  hymn  : 

"  In  God's  eternity, 
There  shall  a  day  arise 
When  all  of  Adam's  race  shall  be 
With  Jesus  in  the  skies." 

And  equally  in  the  glorious  words  of  Epes  Sargent,  the 
stalwart  Spiritualist,  which  are  also  found  in  many  well- 
compiled  hymnals : 

"  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  surely  die, — 
Die  to  the  sin  that  did  its  life  confine." 

Again  quoting  from  Dr.  Alger,  we  will  sum  up  our  all 
too  superficial  glance  at  the  Parsee  faith.  In  the  follow- 
ing sentences  we  behold  a  glorious  picture  of  the  future 


122  Universal  Spiritualism 

which  awaits  our  planet  and  its  multitudinous  inhabitants : 
"  The  earth- wide  stream  of  fire,  flowing  on,  will  cleanse 
every  spot  and  everything.  Even  the  loathsome  realm  of 
darkness  and  torment  shall  be  humbled  and  made  a  part 
of  the  all-inclusive  Paradise.  Ahriman  himself,  reclaimed 
to  virtue,  replenished  with  primal  light,  abjuring  the  mem- 
ories of  his  envious  ways,  and  furling  thenceforth  the  sable 
standard  of  his  rebellion,  shall  become  a  ministering  spirit 
of  the  Most  High,  and  together  with  Ormuzd,  shall  chant 
the  praises  of  Time-without-Bounds.  All  darkness,  false- 
hood, suffering,  shall  flee  utterly  away,  and  the  whole  uni- 
verse be  filled  by  the  illumination  of  good  spirits  blessed 
with  functions  of  eternal  delight.  In  regard  to  the  fate  of 
man  — 

"  Such  are  the  parables  Zartusht  addressed 
To  Iran's  faith,  in  ancient  Zend-Avest." 

To  this  subUme  picture  we  invite  the  earnest,  prayerful 
attention  of  every  benighted  traveler  along  earth's  high- 
way, who  doubts  that  ''  Good  will  be  the  final  goal  of  ill." 
Universal  salvation  is  the  only  salvation  conceivable  in  a 
sane   universe,   and   it  has   been   the  glorious   mission  of 
modern,  as  of  ancient.  Spiritualism  to  proclaim  this  blessed 
/truth,  not  only  as  a  postulate  of  philosophy  or  a  reasonable 
Veligious  faith,  but  as  a  demonstrated  certainty  based  upon 
(progressive  life  in  the  immortal  spheres  of  Spirit. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GREEK  AND   ROMAN  VIEWS  OF  A 
FUTURE  LIFE 

Once  more  acknowledging  indebtedness  to  the  splendid 
work  of  Dr.  Alger,  from  which  we  have  already  quoted 
freely,  we  again  present  our  readers  with  a  fine  descriptive 
passage  from  "A  Critical  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  a 
Future  Life,"  (pages  175-6),  as  it  serves  our  purpose  so 
exactly  at  this  particular  juncture  in  our  progressive  nar- 
rative. "The  disembodied  soul,  as  conceived  by  the 
Greeks,  and  after  them  by  the  Romans,  is  material,  but  of 
so  thin  a  contexture  that  it  cannot  be  felt  with  the  hands. 
It  is  exhaled  with  the  dying  breath,  or  issues  through  a 
warrior's  wounds.  The  owner  passes  through  its  unin- 
jured form  as  through  the  air.  It  is  to  the  body  what  a 
dream  is  to  waking  existence.  Retaining  the  shape,  line- 
aments and  motion  the  man  had  in  life,  it  is  immediately 
recognized  upon  appearing.  It  quits  the  body  with  much 
reluctance,  leaving  that  warm  and  vigorous  investiture  for 
a  chill  and  forceless  existence.  It  glides  along  without 
noise  and  very  swiftly,  like  a  shadow.  It  is  unable  to 
enter  the  lower  kingdom  and  be  at  peace  until  its  deserted 
body  has  been  buried  with  the  sacred  rites  ;  meanwhile, 
naked  and  sad,  it  flits  restlessly  about  the  gates,  uttering 
doleful  moans." 

Unsatisfactory  though  such  a  picture  unquestionably  is, 
if  we  apply  it  to  all  humanity,  it  certainly  is  not  without  an 

123 


124  Universal  Spiritualism 

element  of  truth  if  we  restrict  its  application  to  those  who, 
while  on  earth,  have  failed  to  pay  any  adequate  attention 
to  the  supersensuous  demands  of  life. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  peoples,  were  during  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  their  externally  prosperous  history  de- 
voted far  more  to  sensuous  than  to  spiritual  ideals ;  conse- 
quently the  highly  gifted  seers  and  seeresses  among  them, 
of  whom  there  were  many,  soon  came  to  perceive  that  the 
state  of  the  soul,  immediately  following  physical  dissolu- 
tion, was  not  extremely  enjoyable  in  a  majority  of  instances, 
though  hopeless  misery  was  no  part  of  the  Greek  or  Roman 
creed.  The  importance  of  burial  rites  was  purposely  ex- 
aggerated by  an  ambitious  priesthood  and  various  orders  of 
tradespeople,  who  to  this  very  day,  almost  all  over  the 
earth,  profit  greatly,  not  only  financially  but  in  the  sense  of 
upholding  the  dignity  of  their  respective  offices  by  the 
superstitious  regard  almost  universally  entertained  for  fu- 
neral services  and  their  elaborate  collaterals.  There  is, 
without  doubt,  even  some  spiritual  foundation  for  funeral 
and  memorial  rites,  and  we  would  be  far  from  discourag- 
ing them  totally ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  clear  to  see  that  all 
unnecessary  expenditure  upon  orgies  for  the  departed  is  a 
waste  of  means  and  effort,  and  it  also  tends  to  encourage 
necromantic  beliefs  and  practices  in  place  of  aiding  us  to 
outgrow  our  slavish  dependence  upon  external  forms  to  help 
us  in  seasons  of  extremity. 

Such  mighty  minds  as  Socrates,  Plato,  and  a  few  other 
superb  philosophers,  entertained  almost  nothing  of  the  pop- 
ular belief,  and  one  of  the  chief  causes  which  led  to  the 
condemnation  to  death  of  the  highly  honorable  Socrates  by 
Athenian  judges  was  the  fearless  outspokenness  with  which 
he  inveighed  against  the  slavish  devotion  to  externals  which 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life    125 

prevailed  in  his  day,  even  as  it  prevails  in  ours  to  an  ex- 
tent which  is  almost  incredible. 

The  Greek  Mysteries  were  (and  are)  sublime  beyond 
compare,  but  their  magnificent  symbolism  was  often 
shrouded  in  pitiable  superstition  before  the  gaze  of  the  mul- 
titude. The  splendid  dramas  in  which  were  enacted  the 
story  of  the  descent  of  spirit  into  matter,  its  gradual  ascent 
through  matter  to  a  higher  self-conscious  immortal  life  than  it 
had  previously  enjoyed,  and  its  final  participation  in  the 
bliss  and  glory  of  life  celestial,  were  regarded  by  many  only 
as  religious  spectacles,  like  the  famous  Passion  Play  in 
Bavaria,  which  has  drawn  enormous  crowds  to  the  cele- 
brated village  of  Ober  Ammergau  whenever  it  has  been 
presented. 

The  people  at  large,  in  all  centuries  and  through  all  ages, 
have  seen  the  shell  but  have  not  even  imagined  the  kernel 
within,  and  when  true  philosophers  (lovers  of  wisdom) 
have  determined  to  penetrate  to  the  core  of  symbolism  and 
unveil  a  mystery  they  have  been  greeted  with  execration 
and  doomed  to  execution  by  a  fanatical  mob  prompted  by 
a  corrupted  priesthood.  A  few  faithful  disciples  have, 
however,  always  gathered  about  them,  and  these  have  pre- 
served, even  though  but  imperfectly,  for  future  generations 
the  mighty  saving  truths  which  the  world's  greatest  thinkers 
have,  at  the  peril  of  their  earthly  all,  uncompromisingly 
enunciated.  Some  of  the  early  Greek  ^uthors  described 
the  universe  in  highly  fantastic  language  and  gave  to  the 
world  descriptions  of  the  unseen  spheres  of  spirit  which  are 
to-day  generally  regarded  as  merely  fanciful  speculations. 
Imaginary  though  the  bulk  of  these  undoubtedly  are,  there 
is  much  in  them  which  repays  attention  as  they  are  a 
strange  combination  of  the  results  of  genuine  seership  and 


126  Universal  Spiritualism 

the  workings  of  undisciplined  imagination.  Though 
many  of  the  joyless  scenes  depicted  by  early  Greek  rhap- 
sodists  as  belonging  to  the  world  of  departed  souls  would 
be  sad  indeed  to  contemplate  were  they  presented  as  en- 
during conditions,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  doctrine  of 
reincarnation  prevailed  in  ancient  Greece  among  those  who 
could  see  little  brightness  ahead  of  any  one  in  the  "  land  of 
shades,"  thus,  while  they  did  not  expect  much  joy  or  sun- 
shine in  the  unseen  realms,  they  looked  forward  to  a  glad 
return  to  earth  provided  the  life  previously  lived  merited  so 
felicitous  a  consequence  as  another  earthly  existence  supe- 
rior to  the  former. 

Modern  Theosophy  teaches  many  doctrines  which  are  as 
near  of  kin  to  early  Greek  as  to  Hindu  concepts,  even 
when  leaders  in  the  Theosophical  Society  draw  their  teach- 
ings avowedly  from  Hindu  sources  and  freely  decorate  their 
speech  with  Sanskrit  words  and  phrases.  This  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  explain  when  we  have  once  grasped  the  idea  of  a 
universal  doctrine  and  symbolism  which  runs  through  all 
ancient  and  modern  creeds  and  rituals.  We  must  not  for- 
get that  when  dealing  with  views  of  the  future  life  enter- 
tained by  Greeks  of  old,  we  are  more  often  presented  with 
poetical  rhapsodies  than  with  anything  claiming  to  be  a  re- 
cital of  unembellished  fact,  and  this  is  precisely  the  case 
with  Christian  legends  also.  We  turn  to  Virgil  and  to 
Homer  to  study  classic  views  and  to  Dante  and  Milton  to 
grasp  the  ideas  of  Christians  of  a  later  age.  In  both  in- 
stances we  must  make  allowance  for  ''  poetic  license  "  and 
not  take  too  literally  much  that  may  have  originally  been 
intended  as  an  allegory.  Allegorical  teaching  is  not  prop- 
erly fictitious,  it  is  illustrative,  representative,  dramatic, in 
form,  and  intended  to  present  vivid  tableaux  by  means  of 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life    127 

which  the  picture- loving  multitude  may  be  led  to  embrace 
certain  moral  truths  which  they  might  not  so  readily  heed 
were  they  presented  without  theatrical  accompaniments. 

That  the  Greeks  expected  to  recognize  their  friends  in 
the  spirit-spheres  is  evident  from  the  words  of  Sophocles 
who  reports  the  last  words  of  Antigone  :  * '  Departing  I 
strongly  cherish  the  hope  that  I  shall  be  fondly  welcomed 
by  my  father,  my  mother,  and  my  brother."  Plato,  in 
common  with  others  among  the  greatest  of  Greek  philoso- 
phers, endorses  the  Socratic  doctrine,  which  is  noble, 
rational  and  true,  that  one  who  has  lived  an  upright  life 
on  earth  has  no  need  to  fear  death  or  aught  that  lies  beyond 
it.  This  ancient  philosophic  doctrine  has  found  its  way 
into  modern  religious  poetry,  as  witness  a  beautiful  and 
highly  optimistic  hymn  found  in  Unitarian  and  other 
rational,  though  spiritually  minded,  hymnals : 

"  Fear  ends  with  death,  beyond  it 
I  nothing  see  but  God." 

Extravagant  though  such  a  sentiment  may  be  if  we  seek 
to  apply  it  universally, — and  a  sternly  just  spiritual  philos- 
ophy may  insist  upon  modifying  it, — it  is  immeasurably 
superior  to  the  awful  reasonless  outcries  of  the  bigots  and 
fanatics  who  ''  preach  into  hell  "  all  who  have  not  accepted 
their  creed,  or  who  may  have  wandered  from  the  path 
which  they  in  their  impudence  and  arrogance  have  de- 
clared to  be  the  only  road  to  heaven. 

Hades,  or  the  underworld  of  the  Greeks,  was  not  a  state 
or  place  of  banishment  because  of  sin  or  in  consequence  of 
any  broken  law  in  the  plan  of  the  universe ;  it  was  merely 
a  state  into  which  all  must  pass  after  they  had  completed 
their  term   of  physical  existence  upon  the  surface  of  the 


128  Universal  Spiritualism 

earth,  if  their  souls  were  too  feeble  to  climb  to  Olympus 
and  dwell  among  divinities.  But  we  must  not  be  unmind- 
ful of  the  important  part  played  by  the  irrepressible  idea  of 
retribution  for  all  righteousness  and  for  all  iniquity  which 
is  formed  in  the  very  essence  of  human  nature,  and  which 
blossomed  forth  in  Greece  in  a  contrasting  Elysium  and 
Tartarus,  the  former  being  the  blissful  abode  of  the  right- 
eous, the  latter  a  penal  settlement  for  the  ungodly. 

The  distribution  of  poetic  justice  as  set  forth  in  the  Plays 
sometimes  borders  on  the  ludicrous  and  reminds  us  of  bur- 
lesque, precisely  as  we  can  scarcely  avoid  laughter  when 
remembering  some  of  the  fantastic  mediaeval  means  em- 
ployed to  teach  moral  lessons  and  lead  the  illiterate  to  for- 
sake their  vices  and  pursue  a  path  of  virtue.  As  accom- 
modations to  an  undeveloped  mental  condition  on  the  part 
of  the  ''vulgar"  these  representations  may  be  pardonable, 
but  we  must  seek  far  beyond  them  to  discover  the  higher 
ideas  of  the  learned  aesthetic  Greeks,  whose  extreme  culture 
is  to  this  day  universally  acknowledged.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  Greece  and 
Rome  were  glorified  heroes  and  heroines  who  had  been,  to 
use  a  Christian  phrase,  "canonized  as  saints"  and  after- 
wards promoted  to  the  rank  of  deities,  though  there  is  also 
a  decidedly  astronomical  element  in  all  mythology. 

Ignatius  Donelly,  in  his  interesting  book  "Atlantis," 
declares  that  the  Greek  divinities  were  founded  upon  the 
rulers  of  Poseidon,  that  latest  fragment  of  a  once  enormous 
island-continent  over  which  the  Atlantic  waters  for  many 
millenniums  have  rolled.  Be  this  as  it  may,  mythology  dis- 
tinctly reveals  to  us  a  popular  belief  in  communion  with  indi- 
vidual beings  who  had  once  lived  on  earth,  and  who  still  re- 
tained the  distinctive  features  of  their  respective  individu- 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life    i  29 

alities,  but  as  astronomical  elements  are  found  in  every 
theological  and  theosophical  system,  we  find  the  names  of 
the  diiicreiit  planets  given  to  divinities  and  attributes 
ascribed  to  them  not  unlike  those  which  modern  astrologers 
assign  to  Jupiter,  Saturn,  Venus,  Mars  and  Mercury  when 
they  engage  in  casting  and  reading  horoscopes.  Turning 
to  Ovid,  we  find  him  summing  up  the  cream  of  Greek  and 
Roman  thought  concerning  the  hereafter  in  the  following 
illuminating  words,  which  clearly  show  that  differing 
planes  of  existence  were  acknowledged  and  that  the  fate 
of  the  lower  was  not  ever  confounded  with  the  destiny  of 
the  higher. 

••  Terra  tegit  carnem  ;  tumulum  circumvolat  umbra ; 
Oreus  habet  manes;  spiritus  astra  petit." 

A  free  translation  of  which  may  read, 

Earth  hides  the  flesh ;  the  shade  flits  round  the  tomb ; 

The  image  is  received  by  the  underworld ;  the  spirit  seeks  the  stars. 

Euripides  declares  that  each  element  in  man  seeks  af- 
finity with  its  own  ;  thus  comes  the  saying,  "  the  body  to 
the  ground  ;  the  spirit  to  the  ether."  Sublime  indeed  are 
many  classic  accounts  of  the  promotion  of  ennobled  souls 
to  rank  among  the  gods  in  the  Elysium.  As  human  souls 
still  retain  distinctive  individuality,  they  were  portrayed 
as  exercising  sway  over  the  destinies  of  earth,  and  this 
rational  faith  undoubtedly  was  shared  by  all  among  the 
truly  enlightened  philosophers,  seers  and  sages  of  antiquity. 
Plotinus  has  told  us  that  "Whoever  has  wisdom  and  true 
virtue  in  soul  differs  but  little  from  superior  beings,  in 
this  alone  being  inferior  to  them — that  he  is  in  body." 
Such  an  one  dying  may  therefore  say  with  Empedocles, 


130  Universal  Spiritualism 

"Farewell!  A  god  immortal  now  am  I."  Vespasian  in 
his  expiring  moments  said,  "I  shall  soon  be  a  god." 
These  and  many  more  expressions  of  similar  character 
easily  culled  from  the  riches  of  the  classic  treasure  house, 
must  prove  beyond  dispute  that  the  pure,  upright  and 
valorous  of  earth  had  no  doubt  as  to  their  reception  among 
divinities  when  they  had  finished  their  earthly  course  and 
passed  on  to  their  inevitable  reward. 

Among  devoted  friends  between  whom  the  bond  of 
friendship  has  been  extremely  strong,  though  one  has  been 
manifestly  intellectually  and  morally  the  superior  of  the 
other,  fears  have  been  expressed  lest  the  apotheosis  of  the 
heroic  one  should  completely  banish  him  from  the  society 
of  his  less-developed  comrade  who  could  not  be  trans- 
ported to  the  ''Blessed  Isles."  In  many  such  instances  a 
hero  is  said  to  have  voluntarily  foregone  his  beatification 
that  he  might  still  remain  united  with  the  companion  to 
whom  he  was  devotedly  attached.  In  esoteric  confra- 
ternities where  the  Mysteries  of  Eleusis  are  fully  under- 
stood, the  praise  of  this  voluntary  self-immolation  for  the 
sake  of  another  is  highly  extolled  and  the  declaration  is 
made  that  whosoever  makes  this  voluntary  sacrifice  is  not 
only  not  deprived  of  his  own  merited  exaltation,  but  is  en- 
abled to  so  minister  from  the  Elysium  to  his  friend  for 
whom  he  wished  to  sacrifice  his  own  promotion  that  his 
friend  is  soon  redeemed  from  the  land  of  shades  and  en- 
titled to  join  him  in  the  bliss  of  Paradise. 

Though  the  barbaric  notion  is  not  absent  from  classic 
literature  that  Elysian  rewards  are  bestowed  arbitrarily  by 
gods  upon  their  favorites,  this  crude  and  decidedly  unjust 
opinion  must  not  be  taken  as  other  than  a  corruption  of 
the  classic  faith,  and  it  was  always  discountenanced,  and 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life    131 

often  vehemently  inveighed  against,  by  moral  teachers  who 
unanimously  insisted  that  all  happiness  and  glory  in  the 
hereafter  resulted  solely  from  virtuous  life.  Seneca  satir- 
ized in  the  most  biting  language  what  he  considered  a  de- 
moralizing doctrine  and  travestied  the  supposed  deification 
in  the  future  life  of  those  who  were  not  worthy  of  such 
distinction,  even  going  so  far  as  to  sarcastically  describe 
the  reception  of  Claudius  among  celestial  "pumpkins." 
Pindar,  the  glorious  Theban  lyrist,  takes  cheerful  views  of 
the  state  of  the  departed  in  general,  though  he  never  fails 
to  draw  a  sharp  and  equitable  line  of  demarcation  between 
the  righteous  and  the  insincere  after  their  exit  from  mortal 
bodies.  In  the  various  dialogues  of  Plato  many  different 
doctrines  are  reviewed,  but  we  may  reasonably  believe  that 
the  teachings  of  his  illustrious  preceptor,  Socrates,  were 
those  which  he  really  accepted  and  transmitted  to  the 
world. 

It  cannot  be  disputed  that  Plato  has  expressed  a  firm 
religious  and  philosophical  faith  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  his  thoughts,  indeed,  were  constantly  directed  to  this 
transcendent  theme,  and  such  pure  meditations  had  a  great 
effect  upon  his  wise  and  useful  life.  Plato's  faith  rested 
not  alone  or  chiefly  upon  traditional  doctrines  but  upon 
metaphysical  reasonings,  in  which  he  took  elaborate  de- 
light. The  sincerity  of  his  reasoning  is  self-evident  as  he 
always  seeks  to  draw  practical  inferences  which  tend  to 
ennoble  conduct  and  lead  his  pupils  to  live  more  sanely 
and  seriously  than  though  they  had  been  bereft  of  their 
counselor's  sage  precepts.  Plato's  philosophy  is  at  times 
obscure  but  it  is  always  moral  and  his  teachings  concern- 
ing reembodiment  are  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  many 
modern  Theosophical   deliverances.     The  soul  is  always 


132  Universal  Spiritualism 

essentially  pure,  only  its  vesture  can  be  soiled  or  muddy. 
The  physical  body  is  sometimes  alluded  to  as  a  prison- 
house  and  the  whole  material  world  to  a  place  of  humilia- 
tion, which  is  in  direct  contrast  with  the  materialistic 
theory,  very  prevalent  in  Plato's  day,  that  this  external 
world  is  the  place  of  joy  and  blessedness  and  the  state  be- 
yond death  a  dreary  unlighted  wilderness  in  which  the 
waning  shades  of  the  departed  gradually  lose  all  conscious- 
ness and  eventually  pass  into  extinction. 

The  immense  variety  of  views  entertained  by  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans  were  no  more  numerous  and  conflict- 
ing than  those  put  forward  at  the  present  time,  for  this 
enlightened  twentieth  century,  with  all  its  boasted  culture 
and  refinement,  has  not  outgrown  materialism  on  the  one 
hand  or  ecclesiastical  fanaticism  on  the  other,  though  both 
are  surely  and  rapidly  declining.  Present  day  spiritual 
revelations  do  not  serve  entirely  to  dispel  confusion,  in- 
deed they  sometimes  seem  to  add  to  it,  though  to  the  really 
thoughtful  examiner  of  the  many  diverse  communications 
alleged  to  proceed  from  ''departed  spirits"  the  conflict  of 
statement  is  only  superficially  apparent. 

We  cannot  presume  that  all  who  pass  from  earth  to 
spirit-life  are  equally  enlightened  or  that  all  share  identical 
experiences,  nor  can  we  suppose  that  messages  from  spirit- 
spheres  are  always  accurately  transmitted  or  correctly  in- 
terpreted. Now,  as  in  days  of  old,  there  must  be  an 
immense  amount  of  difference  in  the  condition  of  souls  who 
have  ''crossed  the  border  "  even  as  there  is  practically  in- 
calculable difference  between  one  state  of  humanity  and 
another  here  on  earth.  Again  and  yet  again  are  we  com- 
pelled to  reiterate  the  just  and  solemn  truth  that  dropping 
a  physical  body  does  not  transform  a  character,  and  no 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life 


133 


belief  in  vicarious  atonement  can  produce  results  in  the 
hereafter  which  it  certainly  does  not  produce  on  earth. 

Stern  yet  loving  is  the  decree  of  Deity  made  manifest  in 
all  worlds  equally.  As  the  individual  sows  so  must  the 
individual  reap.  It  is  a  matter  of  small  moment  whether 
we  agree  or  not  as  to  the  means  whereby  the  law  of  equity 
is  universally  fulfilled,  but  to  acknowledge  that  law  and 
trust  undoubtingly  in  its  universal  fulfilment  is  to  equip 
ourselves  with  a  moral  philosophy  which  will  stand  the  test 
of  every  assault  that  can  ever  be  made  upon  it. 

How  far  Plato  in  the  "  Phsedo  "  has  given  us  an  all- 
satisfying  philosophy  of  life  we  leave  our  readers  to  decide 
among  themselves  by  supplementing  these  meditations  of 
our  own  with  a  portion  of  one  of  the  finest  dialogues  which 
the  famous  Grecian  sage  has  transmitted  to  posterity. 

Socrates  is  preparing  to  quaff  the  hemlock  and  in  view 
of  an  almost  immediately  impending  change  of  state,  from 
earth  to  spirit  life,  discourses  thus  among  his  friends  who 
have  remained  faithful  to  their  teacher  to  the  last,  despite 
every  calumny  and  every  blast  of  persecution. 

"Answer  me,  then,"  he  said,  ''  what  that  is  which,  when 
it  is  in  the  body,  the  body  will  be  alive? " 

''  Soul,"  he  replied. 

"Is  not  this,  then,  always  the  case?" 

"  How  should  it  not  be  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Does  the  soul,  then,  always  bring  life  to  whatever  it 
occupies?  " 

"It  does  indeed,"  he  replied. 

"Whether,  then,  is  there  anything  contrary  to  life  or 
not?" 

"There  is,"  he  replied. 

"What?" 


134  Universal  Spiritualism 

"Death." 

*'  The  soul,  then,  will  never  admit  the  contrary  of  that 
which  it  brings  with  it,  as  has  been  already  allowed  ?  " 

"  Most  assuredly,"  replied  Cebes. 

* '  What,  then  ?  How  do  we  denominate  that  which 
does  not  admit  the  idea  of  the  even  ?  " 

"  Uneven,"   he  replied. 

''And  that  which  does  not  admit  the  just,  nor  the 
musical  ?  ' ' 

''Unmusical,"  he  said,  "and  unjust." 

"Be  it  so.  But  what  do  we  call  that  which  does  not 
admit  death  ?  ' ' 

"Immortal,"  he  replied. 

"  Therefore,  does  not  the  soul  admit  death  ?  " 

"No." 

"Is  the  soul,  then,  immortal?" 

"  Immortal." 

"Be  it  so,"  he  said.  "Shall  we  say,  then,  that  this 
has  been  now  demonstrated  ?  or  how  think  you  ?  ' ' 

"Most  completely,  Socrates." 

"What,  then,"  said  he,  "Cebes,  if  it  were  necessary 
for  the  uneven  to  be  imperishable,  would  the  number  three 
be  otherwise  than  imperishable  ?  ' ' 

"  How  should  it  not?" 

"  If,  therefore,  it  were  also  necessary  that  what  is  without 
heat  should  be  imperishable,  when  any  one  should  introduce 
heat  to  snow,  would  not  the  snow  withdraw  itself,  safe  and 
unmelted  ?  For  it  would  not  perish ;  nor  yet  would  it 
stay  and  admit  the  heat." 

"  You  say  truly,"  he  replied. 

"  In  like  manner,  I  think,  if  that  which  is  insusceptible 
of  cold  were  imperishable,  that  when  anything  cold  ap- 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of"  a  Future  Life    135 

proached  the  fire,  it  would  neither  be  extinguished  nor 
perish,  but  would  depart  quite  safe." 

**  Of  necessity,"  he  said. 

''Must  we  not,  then,  of  necessity,"  he  continued, 
"  speak  thus  of  that  which  is  immortal?  if  that  which  is 
immortal  is  imperishable,  it  is  impossible  fur  the  soul  to 
perish,  when  death  approaches  it.  For,  from  what  has 
been  said  already,  it  will  not  admit  death,  nor  will  ever  be 
dead ;  just  as  we  said  that  three  will  never  be  even,  nor, 
again,  will  the  odd ;  nor  will  fire  be  cold,  nor  yet  the 
heat  that  is  in  fire.  But  some  one  may  say,  what  hin- 
ders, though  the  odd  can  never  become  even  by  the  ap- 
proach of  the  even,  as  we  have  allowed,  yet,  when  the  odd 
is  destroyed,  that  the  even  should  succeed  in  its  place  ? 
We  could  not  contend  with  him  who  should  make  this 
objection  that  it  is  not  destroyed,  for  the  uneven  is  not  im- 
perishable ;  since,  if  this  were  granted  us,  we  might  easily 
have  contended  that,  on  the  approach  of  the  even,  the  odd 
and  the  three  depart ;  and  we  might  have  contended  in 
the  same  way  with  respect  to  fire,  heat,  and  the  rest, 
might  we  not?  " 

''Certainly." 

"Wherefore,  with  respect  to  the  immortal,  if  we  have 
allowed  that  it  is  imperishable,  the  soul,  in  addition  to  its 
being  immortal,  must  also  be  imperishable ;  if  not,  there 
will  be  need  of  other  arguments." 

"  But  there  is  no  need,"  he  said,  "  so  far  as  that  is  con- 
cerned ;  for  scarcely  could  anything  not  admit  of  corrup- 
tion, if  that  which  is  immortal  and  eternal  is  liable  to  it." 

"The  deity,  indeed,  I  think,"  said  Socrates,  "and  the 
idea  itself  of  life,  and  if  anything  else  is  immortal,  must  be 
allowed  by  all  beings  to  be  incapable  of  dissolution." 


136  Universal  Spiritualism 

"By  Jupiter!"  he  replied,  "  by  all  men,  indeed,  and 
still  more,  as  I  think,  by  the  gods." 

**  Since,  then,  that  which  is  immortal  is  also  incorrup- 
tible, can  the  soul,  since  it  is  immortal,  be  anything  else 
than  imperishable?  " 

"It  must,  of  necessity,  be  so." 

"  When,  therefore,  death  approaches  a  man,  the  mortal 
part  of  him,  as  it  appears,  dies,  but  the  immortal  part  de- 
parts safe  and  uncorrupted,  having  withdrawn  itself  from 
death?" 

"It  appears  so." 

"The  soul,  therefore,"  he  said,  "  Cebes,  is  most  cer- 
tainly immortal  and  imperishable,  and  our  souls  will  really 
exist  in  Hades." 

"Therefore,  Socrates,"  he  said,  "I  have  nothing  fur- 
ther to  say  against  this,  nor  any  reason  for  doubting  your 
arguments.  But  if  Simmias  here,  or  anyone  else,  has  any- 
thing to  say,  it  were  well  for  him  not  to  be  silent ;  for  I 
know  not  to  what  other  opportunity  beyond  the  present  any 
one  can  defer  it,  who  wishes  either  to  speak  or  hear  about 
these  things." 

"But,  indeed,"  said  Simmias,  "neither  have  I  any 
reason  to  doubt  what  has  been  urged  ;  yet,  from  the  magni- 
tude of  the  subject  discussed,  and  from  my  low  opinion  of 
human  weakness,  I  am  compelled  still  to  retain  a  doubt 
within  myself  with  respect  to  what  has  been  said.  " 

"Not  only  so,  Simmias,"  said  Socrates,  "but  you  say 
this  well ;  and,  moreover,  the  first  hypotheses,  even  though 
they  are  credible  to  you,  should  nevertheless  be  examined 
more  carefully ;  and  if  you  should  investigate  them  suffi- 
ciently, I  think  you  will  follow  my  reasoning  as  far  as  it 


Greek  and  Roman  Views  of  a  Future  Life    137 

is  possible  for  man  to  do  so  ;  and  if  this  very  point  becomes 
clear,  you  will  inquire  no  further." 

''  You  speak  truly,"  he  said. 

''  But  it  is  right,  my  friends,"  he  said,  "  that  we  should 
consider  this — that  if  the  soul  is  immortal,  it  requires  our 
care  not  only  for  the  present  time,  which  we  call  life,  but 
for  all  time  ;  and  the  danger  would  now  appear  to  be  dread- 
ful if  one  should  neglect  it.  For  if  death  were  a  deliver- 
ance from  everything,  it  would  be  a  great  gain  for  the 
wicked,  when  they  die,  to  be  delivered  at  the  same  time 
from  the  body,  and  from  their  vices  together  with  the  soul ; 
but  now,  since  it  appears  to  be  immortal,  it  can  have  no 
other  refuge  from  evils,  nor  safety,  except  by  becoming  as 
good  and  wise  as  possible.  For  the  soul  goes  to  Hades 
possessing  nothing  else  than  its  discipline  and  education, 
which  are  said  to  be  of  the  greatest  advantage  or  detriment 
to  the  dead,  on  the  very  beginning  of  his  journey  thither. 
For,  thus,  it  is  said  that  each  person's  demon  who  was  as- 
signed to  him  while  living,  when  he  dies  conducts  him  to 
some  place,  where  they  that  are  assembled  together  must 
receive  sentence,  and  then  proceed  to  Hades  with  that 
guide  who  has  been  ordered  to  conduct  them  from  hence 
thither.  But  there  having  received  their  deserts,  and  hav- 
ing remained  the  appointed  time,  another  guide  brings  them 
back  hither  again,  after  many  and  long  revolutions  of  time. 
The  journey,  then,  is  not  such  as  the  Telephus  of  ^schylus 
describes  it ;  for  he  says  that  a  simple  path  leads  to  Hades  ; 
but  it  appears  to  me  to  be  neither  simple  nor  one,  for  there 
would  be  no  need  of  guides,  nor  could  any  one  ever  miss  the 
way,  if  there  were  but  one.  But  now  it  appears  to  have  many 
divisions  and  windings ;  and  this  I  conjecture  from  our  re- 


138  Universal  Spiritualism 

ligious  and  funeral  rites.'  The  well  ordered  and  wise  soul, 
then,  both  follows,  and  is  not  ignorant  of  its  present  condi- 
tion ;  but  that  which  through  passion  clings  to  the  body, 
as  I  said  before,  having  longingly  fluttered  about  it  for  a 
long  time,  and  about  its  visible  place,'  after  vehement  re- 
sistance and  great  suffering,  is  forcibly  and  with  great  diffi- 
culty led  away  by  its  appointed  demon.  And  when  it  ar- 
rives at  the  place  where  the  others  are,  impure  and  having 
done  any  such  thing  as  the  committal  of  unrighteous 
murders  or  other  similar  actions,  which  are  kindred  to 
these,  and  are  the  deeds  of  kindred  souls,  every  one  shuns 
it  and  turns  away  from  it,  and  will  be  neither  its  fellow - 
traveler  nor  guide ;  but  it  wanders  about,  oppressed  with 
every  kind  of  helplessness,  until  certain  periods  have 
elapsed  ;  and  when  these  are  completed,  it  is  carried,  of 
necessity,  to  an  abode  suitable  to  it.  But  the  soul  which 
has  passed  through  life  with  purity  and  moderation,  having 
obtained  the  gods  for  its  fellow-travelers  and  guides,  settles 
each  in  the  place  suited  to  it." 

The  foregoing  extracts  are  taken  verbatim  from  a  literal 
translation  of  Plato's  "  Phaedo  "  made  by  Henry  Gary, 
M.  A.,  Worcester  College,  Oxford,  England,  and  contained 
in  a  very  convenient  edition  of  ancient  masterpieces  en- 
titled ''  Pocket  Literal  Translations  of  the  Classics  "  issued 
by  David  McKay,  Publisher,  Philadelphia. 

*  It  is  difficult  to  express  the  distinction  between  data  and  vo/jt£,ua. 
The  former  word  seems  to  have  reference  to  the  souls  of  the  dead  ; 
the  latter,  to  their  bodies. 

*  Its  place  of  interment. 


CHAPTER  IX 

HINDU    CONCEPTIONS  OF  THE  SOUL  AND 
ITS   IMMORTALITY 

Though  during  recent  years  Europe  and  America  have 
been  flooded  with  Oriental  teachers,  and  translations  of  San- 
skrit literature  have  been  industriously  and  widely  dissem- 
inated, the  enormous  variety  of  views  entertained  in  eastern 
Asia  concerning  all  spiritual  problems  is  so  bewildering  that 
India  and  Ceylon,  chief  centres  respectively  of  Brahman- 
ism  and  Buddhism,  are  still  storehouses  of  an  immense 
amount  of  knowledge  as  yet  unappropriated  and  uncompre- 
hended  in  the  West.  Max  Miiller  styled  the  "  Rig  Veda  " 
the  oldest  book  in  the  world,  and  it  maybe  clearly  seen  by 
all  who  are  attempting  to  fathom  Oriental  philosophy,  that 
Vedic  teachings  lie  at  the  root  of  almost  every  modern 
philosophic  system.  India  has  always  been  a  land  of  en- 
trancing mystery  which  only  the  very  keenest  among  Anglo- 
Indians  have  ever  sought  to  penetrate. 

British  rule  in  India  has  been  something  of  a  blessing, 
and  it  may  have  saved  the  country  from  a  far  worse  fate  ; 
but  the  average  Briton,  until  quite  recently,  even  when 
fairly,  and  sometimes  highly  educated,  has  taken  so  con- 
temptuous a  view  of  the  religion  of  all  ''  heathen  "  peoples 
that  he  has  regarded  India  only  as  a  field  for  missionary 
effort,  not  as  a  school  in  which  all  peoples  may  profitably 
study  the  foundations  of  religion  and  philosophy. 

The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  are  now  fairly  accessible 
to  the  reading  public  the  world  over,  and  ever  since  Max 


140  Universal  Spiritualism 

Miiller  lectured  in  Westminster  Abbey,  by  invitation  of 
Dean  Stanley  in  1870,  the  stupid  prejudice  which  formerly 
existed  against  Oriental  doctrines  and  religious  practices 
has,  in  some  measure,  subsided  even  among  the  most  con- 
servative Christians.  Much  more  recently  the  work  of  the 
Theosophical  Society,  and  in  a  very  marked  degree  the 
lectures  and  writings  of  Annie  Besant,  who  always  com- 
mands a  large  and  attentive  hearing,  has  served  to  dispel 
much  of  the  gloom  and  misrepresentation  which  formerly 
hung  like  a  funeral  pall  over  the  spiritual  and  intellectual 
treasures  of  the  mighty  East. 

Brahmanism  and  Buddhism  are  the  two  great  aspects 
and  embodiments  of  Oriental  religion  and  philosophy 
which  naturally  receive  the  largest  share  of  popular  atten- 
tion. These  are  not  at  root  antagonistic  ;  for,  as  Sir  Ed- 
win Arnold  clearly  proved  in  his  magnificent  poem  *'  The 
Light  of  Asia,"  Gautama  the  Buddha  was  not  an  iconoclast 
who  sought  to  destroy  the  Brahmanic  faith,  but  a  reformer 
whose  sole  aim  was  to  purify  it.  The  caste  system,  which 
seems  an  integral  part  of  Brahmanism,  is  not  the  wholly 
objectionable  thing  which  many  of  its  traducers  still  im- 
agine it  to  be.  It  is  indeed  essentially  quite  reasonable, 
though  liable  to  gross  corruptions ;  and  against  perver- 
sions of  it,  and  against  such  only,  did  the  hero  of  **the 
Great  Renunciation  "  forcibly  protest.  The  Absolute 
Being  Para-Brahm,  being  beyond  all  related  definition, — 
and  all  peoples  demand  some  concrete  views  of  Deity, — 
we  find  three  expressions  of  Infinite  Life,  called  Brahma, 
Vishnu  and  Siva,  prominent  in  Indian  theology ;  as  we 
find  Osiris,  Isis  and  Horus  in  Egypt,  and  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Spirit  in  Christendom.  ''  Three  Persons  and  one 
God  "  seems   to   be  the   first   endeavor    on   the   part  of 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        141 

religious  leaders  to  put  into  something  like  intelligible 
phrase  the  idea  of  one  Supreme  Being  manifesting  in  a 
threefold  manner — as  Creator,  Preserver  and  Transformer. 

The  ancient  symbols  of  the  Circle  and  the  Triangle  are 
common  alike  to  India  and  Egypt ;  indeed  we  find  them 
everywhere,  the  former  intended  to  denote  the  Infinite- 
Eternal  and  the  absolute  immortality  of  hfe  itself;  the  lat- 
ter intended  to  deal  with  manifested  Being  in  measure 
comprehensible  by  human  faculties. 

Sir  Monier  Williams,  whose  work  on  Hinduism  has 
been  published  by  the  British  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  has  very  frankly  stated  that  the 
primal  doctrine  of  Brahmanism  is  one  Infinite  Eternal 
Spirit.  All  that  seemingly  exists  separate  from  that  Spirit 
is  illusion.  This  statement  should  not  be  taken  to  mean 
that  there  can  be  no  individual  existences  distinct  one 
from  the  other;  but,  though  they  are  distinct,  they  are 
essentially  inseparable  one  from  the  other  and  are  all  de- 
rived from  the  Infinite  One.  We  may  well  remember  the 
words  of  Mabel  Collins  in  "Light  on  the  Path"  where 
she  informs  her  readers  that  "  Kill  out  the  sense  of  sep- 
arateness  "  is  a  direction  given  to  all  who  are  seeking  to 
enter  within  the  charmed  circle  of  Eastern  (esoteric) 
wisdom. 

Annie  Besant,  in  "A  Study  in  Consciousness,"  throws 
much  light  on  the  true  significance  of  such  a  precept,  and 
employs  many  telling  illustrations  to  elucidate  the  Oriental 
idea  of  unity  expressed  in  multiplicity.  Readers  of 
Swedenborg  will  be  quite  familiar  with  this  distinction  be- 
tween "  separateness  "  and  ''distinctness"  upon  which 
the  illumined  seer  and  sage  of  Sweden  voluminously  dwells. 
"God  is  the  First  (original)  of  every  man"  is  one  of 


142  Universal  Spiritualism 

Svvedenborg's  highly  important  declarations;  and  we  must 
not  forget  that  he  tells  us  that  many  thousands  of  years  be- 
)fore  his  time  there  were  those  on  earth  who  knew  and 
treasured  the  holy  truths  which  he  was  commissioned  to 
redeliver  to  mankind  in  the  eighteenth  century  in  Europe. 
In  Great  Tartary  he  says  a  portion  of  the  ''Ancient 
Word"  remains  concealed,  and  he  informs  us  that  as  the 
world  grows  more  and  more  enlightened,  as  a  new  dispen- 
sation of  truth  advances  on  its  way,  long  hidden  mysteries 
will  be  revealed  for  the  edification  of  humanity  at  large. 

Brahmans  and  Buddhists  alike  conceive  of  the  universe 
on  a  gigantic  scale,  and  not  only  are  their  ideas  of  size, 
but  also  their  ideas  of  time,  magnificent.  Mount  Meru 
rises  to  a  height  of  two  million  miles  from  the  centre  of 
the  earth.  On  its  summit  is  the  abode  of  Brahma,  occu- 
pying a  space  of  fourteen  thousand  leagues,  surrounded  by 
the  splendid  dwellings  of  celestial  regents.  Between  Meru 
and  the  extreme  circumference  of  the  earth  are  seven  con- 
centric circles  of  rock  ;  between  these  are  continents  and 
seas.  We  might  easily  go  on  to  paint  a  wondrous  picture 
of  glories  and  horrors,  all  contained  within  this  vast  ex- 
panse, were  it  our  purpose  to  give  to  our  readers  a  detailed 
account  of  how  Oriental  imagination  has  pictured  forth 
its  concepts  of  this  universe  (one  out  of  a  countless  multi- 
tude of  universes)  in  which  we  are  now  abiding, — and 
through  it  all  a  moral  purpose  runs.  But  we  have  no  space 
for  such  enormous  wealth  of  detail,  nor  do  we  undertake 
to  decipher  so  many  graphic  hieroglyphics  or  attempt  to 
point  the  special  lesson  which  each  sublime  romantic 
tale  is  designed  to  teach.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  cos- 
mology and  cosmogony  of  India  are  so  intricate  and  won- 
derful, and    withal    so  well    in  keeping  with   the  latest 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        143 

findings  of  Western  astronomers,  that  when  stripped  of 
picturesque  imagery  and  translated  into  the  sober  prose  of 
English  speech,  we  might  well  accept  the  claim  to  supernal 
wisdom  made  for  the  original  authors  of  the  Vedas  by 
those  who  firmly  believe  that  India's  sacred  literature  and 
immensely  ancient  traditions  embody  a  system  of  science 
and  philosophy  unequaled  elsewhere  on  earth. 

Brahmans  and  Buddhists  alike,  sharing  faith  in  an 
illimitable  cosmos,  declare  that  gods,  men,  demons  and 
every  form  of  animal  life  occupying  a  countless  host  of 
worlds,  all  constitute  one  family.  The  totality  of  animated 
existences,  from  glorious  Indra  to  the  most  insignificant  in- 
sect, constitute  one  vast  fraternal  race.  We  read  in  the 
Vishnu  Parana:  ''The  Universe,  this  whole  egg  of 
Brahma,  is  everywhere  teeming  with  living  creatures,  all 
captives  in  the  chain  of  acts."  '' Elder  Brethren  of  the 
Race  "  is  the  appropriate  tide  often  given  to  Masters  and 
even  to  Devas  (the  shining  ones)  by  modern  students  of 
Asiatic  philosophy,  which,  when  delivered  from  the 
shackles  of  repugnant  superstitions  with  which  it  is  even 
yet  deeply  shrouded,  will  be  found  to  contain  a  doctrine  of 
Cosmic  Consciousness  satisfactory  to  head  and  heart  alike. 

The  vexed  question  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  from 
body  to  body  until  Nirvana  is  attained,  must  be  considered 
under  two  widely  differing  aspects.  With  popular  credulity 
we  are  all  measurably  familiar,  and  we  can  well  credit  the 
tale  told  by  H.  P.  Blavatsky,  in  her  book  of  travels  entitled 
"In  the  Caves  and  Jungles  of  Hindustan,"  where  she 
describes  an  ignorant  family  mourning  over  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  soul  of  a  member  of  that  family  in  the  body  of 
a  vampire  bat.  Wild,  foolish,  and  repugnant  though  such 
superstitions   are, — and   no   one   works   to   abolish   them 


144  Universal  Spiritualism 

more  earnestly  than  intelligent  Theosophists  who  make  a 
special  study  of  Oriental  philosophy, — even  such  a  fate  for 
a  human  soul  is  mild  and  merciful  indeed  when  contrasted 
with  belief  in  endless  misery  ;  for  a  bat  will  die  in  a  few 
years,  if  it  be  not  killed  prematurely,  and  then  the  tem- 
porarily imprisoned  human  soul  is  liberated  and  allowed 
another  opportunity  to  pursue  an  onward  way.  Such  be- 
liefs are,  however,  exclusively  the  property  of  the  ignorant 
and  form  not  any  portion  of  the  faith  of  the  learned  in 
Hindustan.  This  H.  P.  Blavatsky  most  positively  declares, 
and  Colonel  Olcott,  president  of  the  Theosophical  Society, 
whose  headquarters  are  at  Adyar,  has  many  times  con- 
firmed this  declaration.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  in  his 
splendid  treatise  on  *'Ten  Great  Religions,"  suggested 
\  that  the  right  interpretation  of  transmigration  was  evolu- 


tion. In  a  '* backward  cipher"  the  scientific  knowledge 
of  Eastern  Asia  has  been  often  written ;  so  that  when  we 
reverse  the  order  of  the  literal  statement  we  shall  not  look 
forward  to  incarceration  in  the  bodies  of  lower  creatures, 
but  shall  look  backward  down  the  ages  and  trace  the  life- 
tide  ever  rising  higher  and  higher  through  the  mineral, 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  up  to  man ;  then  on  from 
stage  to  stage  in  human  development  till  at  length  the  pro- 
gressing spiritual  entity  clothes  itself  in  garments  of  celestial 
glory  and  manifests  as  a  bright  shining  Deva,  as  far  beyond 
the  highest  human  stage  with  which  we  are  acquainted  on 
earth  as  that  stage  is  superior  to  the  lowest  type  of  savage. 
India's  ancient  philosophy  is  indeed  intricate,  but  its 
intricacies  are  practically  unavoidable,  for  it  aims  at  noth- 
ing less  than  a  definition  of  the  universal  Cosmos.  We 
advise  our  readers  to  peruse  "The  Ancient  Wisdom  "  and 
*<A  Study  in  Consciousness,"  two  wonderful  books  by 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        145 

Annie  Besant,  if  they  are  desirous  of  gaining  further  in- 
sight into  the  mysteries  of  Oriental  philosophy.  Mrs. 
Besant's  works  are  quite  profound,  and  at  the  same  time 
sufficiently  popular  in  style  to  commend  her  writings  to 
the  attention  of  all  seriously  disposed  people,  particularly 
to  all  such  as  wish  to  know  how  a  studious  Englishwoman, 
who  was  for  many  years  a  public  exponent  of  Materialism, 
has  found  in  Indian  lore  a  satisfactory  answer  to  all  her 
doubts  and  cavilings.  We  do  not  wonder  that  many 
travelers  in  the  East,  not  excepting  some  who  are  highly 
intelligent,  have  supposed  that  Brahmans  and  Buddhists 
alike  look  forward  to  the  ultimate  obliteration  of  all  indi- 
vidualized existence ;  but  such  a  view  is  not  taken  by  those 
who  penetrate  deeply  into  Oriental  doctrine.  A  single 
Sanskrit  term,  Fara-Nirva?ia,  is  sufficient  to  prove  that 
Nirvana  cannot  mean  extinction  of  individual  life,  or 
there  could  be  no  state  beyond ;  and  Fara  means  a  higher 
state.  When,  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  we  read  of  a 
condition  of  blissful  existence  in  Paradise  which  *'eye 
has  not  seen,  ear  has  not  heard,  and  the  heart  of  man  has 
not  conceived,"  we  are  confronted  with  a  truly  Oriental 
concept,  and  a  thoroughly  reasonable  one;  for  nothing 
can  be  more  absurd  than  to  suppose  that  those  spheres  of 
existence  which  immediately  encircle,  and  also  inter- 
I  penetrate,  this  earth,  and  are  the  present  dwelling  places 
of  the  vast  multitude  of  excarnated  human  entities  who 
constitute  the  unseen  population  of  this  globe,  are  the 
ultimate  abiding  places  of  humanity,  or  that  they  repre- 
sent or  can  make  manifest  anything  higher  or  larger  than 
the  7iext  state,  the  immediately  succeeding  link  in  the 
mighty  chain  of  progressive  individual  existence  which  fol- 
lows directly  upon  physical  disbodiment. 


146  Universal  Spiritualism 

Though  the  idea  of  reincarnation  pervades  all  Hindu 
'  literature,  there  is  no  mistaking  the  fact  that  all  Hindu 
philosophers  have  spoken  of  a  glorious  condition  when  the 
soul  shall  be  no  longer  chained  to  the  "  wheel  of  change." 
Births  and  deaths  and  rebirths  are  necessary  until  all  lessons 
have  been  learned  which  incarnations  can  teach,  until  the 
soul  has  become  so  fully  purified  from  carnal  desires  and 
selfish  purposes  that  it  is  no  longer  attracted  earthward. 

But,  even  when  it  has  fulfilled  its  allotted  tasks,  assigned 
to  it  by  these  benevolent  ''Fires  of  the  Kosmos  "  and 
''  Lords  of  Karma  "  who  superintend  all  the  winding  paths 
of  man's  terrestrial  existences,  the  soul  may  then,  if  it  so 
wills,  incarnate  voluntarily  on  a  mission  of  good  will  to 
humanity,  making  a  voluntary  renunciation  of  the  bliss  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  and  plunging  again  into  the  vortex  of 
the  earthly  maelstrom  that  it  may  teach,  heal  and  bless 
those  who  are  yet  struggling  on  lower  rungs  of  the  ladder 
of  attainment.  (Such  is  the  motive  which  brings  to  earth 
a  Messiah  or  Avatar.  Christ,  ' '  emptying  himself  of  his 
glory ' '  and  descending  to  earth  to  save  humanity,  is  a 
very  familiar  thought  among  all  who  are  diligent  students 
of  Asia's  profound  philosophies.  Christians,  particularly 
if  they  are  intelligent  Universalists,  may  do  much  good  in 
India  and  help  to  lift  the  native  populations  out  of  the 
dreary  apathy  into  which  millions  have  sunk,  and  out  of 
the  superstitions  which  a  degraded  form  of  religion  has 
tolerated  if  not  actually  fostered ;  but  missionaries  from 
the  West  must  never  forget  that  they  are  ministering  among 
V  a  people  whose  traditions  are  filled  with  the  noblest  ethical 
/precepts,  which  need  only  to  be  revived  and  restated,  not 
\  to  be  supplanted  by  the  jargon  of  an  alien  creed. 

When  perusing  much  of  the  accessible  literature  which 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        147 

attempts  to  explain  Hindu  philosophy  and  makes  quota- 
tions from  the  Vedas,  Puranas,  and  other  venerable  tomes, 
we  are  reminded  of  beautiful  pictures  executed  by  truly 
great  masters  (such  as  we  often  find  in  Italy),  blackened 
by  candle-smoke,  festooned  with  cobwebs,  overlaid  with  dust 
and  grime,  but  only  needing  restoration  by  a  cleansing 
process  which  shall  remove  accumulated  debris  to  show 
themselves  anew  in  pristine  glory,  as  they  first  appeared 
when  the  great  artists  who  produced  them  had  finished 
their  exquisite  work.  Slowly,  but  surely,  the  West  is  begin- 
ning to  understand  ihe  East,  and  with  the  certain  downfall 
of  sacerdotal  assumptions  and  ecclesiastical  fallacies  in 
Christendom,  revised  philosophies  which  do  indeed  in- 
terpret the  universe  both  spiritually  and  rationally  will 
come  prominently  into  view  and  take  the  places  now  being 
left  vacant  by  the  decline  of  dogmas  which  the  intelligence 
of  Europe  and  America  has  certainly  outgrown.  We  need 
not  attempt  to  vouch  for  figures,  all  of  which  may  have  a 
symbolic  and  esoteric  meaning,  but  even  w^hen  we  are  told 
that  four  billion,  three  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of 
years  constitute  a  day  of  Brahma,  during  which  a  mani- 
fested universe  exists,  and  that  this  is  followed  by  a  Night 
of  Brahma,  during  which  it  sleeps,  we  can  only  exclaim 
that  such  stupendous  periods  agree  far  more  with  the  find- 
ings of  modern  astronomers  than  did  the  ridiculously  small 
numbers,  extending  only  to  a  few  thousand  years,  which 
our  forefathers  believed  marked  correctly  the  duration  of 
a  solar  system,  because  they  took  every  word  in  Genesis 
literally  and  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  figurative 
style  in  which  all  Oriental  books  are  written. 

Hindu  philosophy   is  centred   in  the  idea  of  Karma^ 
which  is  relentless  equity,  allowifig  no  place  for  such  par- 


148  Universal  Spiritualism 

don,  forgiveness  or  vicarious  atonement  as  the  orthodox 
Christian  world  delights  to  picture ;  but  stern  and  unre- 
lenting though  the  Karmic  law  appears,  it  is  truly  described 
by  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  in  those  memorable  words — ''.the 
heart  of  it  is  love,"  which  should  never  be  forgotten  by 
any  who  seek  to  penetrate  its  august  mysteries.  The 
most  orthodox  of  Christians  love  the  beautiful  text  from 
the  first  of  John's  Epistles — ''  God  is  love,''  but  such  words 
are  a  mockery  in  the  ears  of  heart-stricken  mourners,  who 
have  been  newly  bereft  of  some  beloved  friend  who  has 
passed  into  the  unseen  state  ''unconverted  "  or  "  unregen- 
erate,"  for  a  wicked  belief  in  endless  misery  does  not 
tolerate  even  a  hope  that  such  poor  souls  shall  ever  be  re- 
leased from  misery.  *'  God  has  decreed  otherwise"  is  the 
blasphemous  utterance  of  many  a  deluded  and  deluding 
preacher,  who  controverts  what  Tennyson  expressed  as 
"  the  larger  hope."  Though  so  frightful  a  doctrine  is  not 
nearly  so  common  as  it  used  to  be,  it  is  still  preached,  par- 
ticularly at  revival  and  mission  services,  but  never  with 
any  permanently  good  effect.  If  all  Christians  were  Uni- 
versalists  we  could  listen  in  complacent  silence  to  their 
attacks  on  some  aspects  of  Oriental  philosophy,  and  even 
then  we  would  mildly  suggest  that  there  is  something  yet 
to  be  learned  from  Asia,  but  the  most  savage  attacks  upon 
the  allied  doctrines  of  Karma  and  Reincarnation  have  come 
from  types  of  missionaries  into  whose  darkened  minds  the 
light  of  Universalism  has  never  shone.  It  may  not  be 
pleasant,  while  the  suffering  lasts,  to  pay  the  penalty  due 
to  one's  misdeeds,  but  the  result  is  well  worth  all  that  it 
has  cost  to  reach  it ;  this  the  Christian  New  Testament, 
equally  with  Hindu  Scriptures,  unequivocally  declares. 
Many  Spiritualists  antagonize  the  thought  of  reembodi- 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        149 

ment,  while  others  fervently  proclaim  it,  but  all  teach 
retribution  and  progressive  elevation.  We  may  dispute 
over  ways  and  means,  but  we  can  all  agree  on  one  point, 
viz.,  that  as  we  sow  we  reap.  The  law  of  sequence 
;(Karma)  does  not  permit  of  inequity  in  the  universe.  All 
is  adjusted  perfectly  throughout  the  immensely  complicated 
fscheme  of  worlds  of  which  this  earth  is  one.  This  is  a 
[teaching  common  to  Spiritualism  and  to  Theosophy,  and 
its  roots  are  deeply  grounded  in  ancient  Oriental  doctrines. 
Our  attention  having  frequently  been  called  to  the 
necessity  of  having  clear  English  equivalents  for  Sanskrit 
terms  which  are  now  often  freely  mentioned  among  students 
of  spiritual  philosophy,  and  wishing  to  present  our  readers 
with  as  clear  and  concise  an  outline  as  possible  of  Hindu 
teaching,  we  have  drawn  the  following  interpretations  from 
"  A  Study  in  Consciousness  "  by  Annie  Besant  (Theosoph- 
ical  Publishing  Society)  in  the  hope  that  the  few  extracts 
we  have  taken  the  liberty  to  make  from  that  erudite  volume 
will  lead  many  of  our  readers  to  procure  and  study  it 
themselves.  Though  the  sub- title  of  the  book  is  ''  A  con- 
tribution to  the  Science  of  Psychology,"  it  is  widely 
different,  alike  in  tone  and  subject  matter,  from  works  on 
psychology  in  general,  as  it  is  based  on  Hinduism,  and 
then  branches  out  into  all  the  many  fields  which  Material- 
ists equally  with  Theosophical  psychologists  seek  to  study. 
Mrs.  Besant  says  ''  We  have  learned  that  the  matter  in  a 
solar  system  exists  in  seven  great  modifications,  or  planes. 
On  three  of  these,  the  physical,  emotional  (astral)  and 
mental — often  spoken  of  as  the  three  worlds — the  well- 
known  Triloki  or  Tribhunan^^m  of  the  Hindu  cosmogony  is 
proceeding  the  normal  evolution  of  humanity.  On  the 
next  two  planes,  the  spiritual — those  of  wisdom  and  power, 


150  Universal  Spiritualism 

the  Buddhic  and  the  Atmic — goes  on  the  specific  evolution 
of  the  Initiate,  after  the  first  of  the  Great  Initiations. 
These  five  planes  form  the  field  of  the  evolution  of  con- 
sciousness, until  the  human  merges  in  the  divine.  The 
two  planes  beyond  the  five  represent  the  sphere  of  divine 
activity,  encircling  and  enveloping  all,  out  of  which  pour 
forth  all  the  divine  energies  which  unify  and  sustain  the 
whole  system.  They  are  at  present  entirely  beyond  our 
knowledge,  and  the  few  hints  that  have  been  given  regard- 
ing them  probably  convey  as  much  information  as  our 
limited  capacity  is  able  to  grasp.  We  are  taught  that  they 
are  the  planes  of  Divine  Consciousness,  wherein  the  Logos, 
or  the  divine  trinity  of  Logoi,  is  manifested  and  where- 
from  He  shines  forth  as  the  Creator,  the  Preserver,  the 
Dissolver ;  evolving  a  universe,  maintaining  it  during  its 
life-period,  withdrawing  it  into  Himself  at  its  ending.  We 
have  been  given  the  names  of  these  two  planes  :  the  lower 
is  the  Anupadaka,  that  wherein  no  vehicle  has  yet  been 
formed ;  the  higher  is  the  Adi ;  the  first,  the  foundation 
of  a  universe,  its  support,  the  fount  of  its  life.  We  have 
thus  the  seven  planes  of  a  universe,  a  solar  system,  which, 
as  we  see  by  this  brief  description,  may  be  regarded  as 
making  up  three  groups  :  i.  The  field  of  Logic  manifesta- 
tion only.  2.  The  field  of  super-normal  human  evolution, 
that  of  the  Initiate.  3.  The  field  of  elemental,  mineral, 
vegetable,  animal  and  normal  human  evolution.  We  may 
tabulate  these  facts   thus  : 

1 .  Adi  I      I.     The  field  of  Logic  manifestation 

2.  Anupadaka  |  only. 

3.  Atmic  I      II.    The  field  of  super-normal  human, 

4.  Buddhic        \  evolution. 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        151 

5.  Mental  \      III.     The  field  of  elemental,  mineral, 

6.  Emotional     I  vegetable,  animal,  and  normal  human 

7.  Physical        )  evolution. 

As  we  are  indebted  to  Mrs.  Besant  for  this  summary  of 
Hindu  teaching  concerning  the  system  of  worlds  in  which 
we  are  at  present  living,  she  in  turn  acknowledges  indebt- 
edness to  a  Sanskrit  manuscript  called  Pranana-vdda. 
Here  we  have  a  very  ancient  and  truly  profound  exposition 
of  the  seven  states,  or  spheres,  which  are  continually  being 
mentioned  in  connection  with  spiritual  existence.  The 
number  seven  is  the  number  of  the  system  to  which  this 
earth  belongs,  and  throughout  all  sacred  literature,  and 
persistently  in  spiritualistic  statements  does  this  number  ap- 
pear. In  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  the  work  of  Elohim 
is  accomplished  in  six  periods  of  activity  followed  by  a 
seventh  period  of  sublime  repose.  In  the  Apocalypse  there 
are  seven  spirits  of  God  or  divine  emanations  from  the  In- 
effable One,  seven  seals  which  have  to  be  broken  before  the 
contents  of  the  mystic  book  can  be  made  known,  also  a 
rainbow  about  the  throne,  another  allusion  to  the  number 
seven.  The  Beast  and  the  False  Prophet  can  never  attain 
to  a  higher  numeral  than  six ;  therefore  six  hundred  sixty- 
six,  denoting  imperfection  of  statement  and  failure  to  at- 
tain to  completeness  in  any  direction,  is  given  as  the  num- 
ber of  all  that  is  doomed  in  time  to  pass  away.  Whoever 
will  study  the  Christian  Scriptures  side  by  side  with  San- 
skrit documents  will  find  a  wonderful  agreement  between 
them,  and  it  is  surely  not  presumptuous  to  suggest  that  the 
younger  have  more  likely  drawn  from  the  elder  than  that 
the  more  ancient  have  been  copied  from  those  of  later  date. 
Investigations   of  Hindu   documents  reveal   the  roots  of 


152  Universal  Spiritualism 

every  doctrine  which  has  been  set  forth  as  original  with 
Christianity,  and  though  perversions  are  found  in  India  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  and  we  should  be  foolish  indeed  did  we 
bow  slavishly  to  all  the  theories  we  might  pick  up  in  India, 
the  venerable  sources  whence  Brahmanical  and  Buddhistic 
doctrines  and  institutions  have  sprung  are  truly  wells  of 
living  water  at  which  thirsty  travelers  may  refresh  them- 

.selves  to-day,  even  as  did  the  ancient  Aryans  long  before 
that  decadence  set  in  under  which  degraded  India  has  suf- 
fered for  so  many  centuries.  Though  it  is  continually 
asserted  by  opponents  of  Hindu  philosophy  that  its  incul- 
cations are  mainly  responsible  for  India's  degradation,  we 
answer  emphatically  no  /  though  we  admit  that  a  corrupted 
priesthood  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  servility  and 
despondency  of  a  large  section  of  India's  teeming  popula- 
tion.. But  Christendom  cannot  boast  of  freedom  from  the 
same  bhght,  seeing  that  the  beautiful  teachings  of  the  New 

^,  Testament  have  been  equally  travestied  and  perverted,  and 
nowhere  have  people  been  kept  in  greater  ignorance  than 

.  during  some  periods  in  Christian  countries  even  when  a 
dominant  church  has  had  the  power  in  its  hands  to  change 

'  conditions  at  its  dictation. 

Prophets  and  priests  have  always  been  at  variance.  It 
was  Buddha  the  enlightened  prophet  who  revolutionized  the 
religion  of  India  in  his  day,  from  500  to  600  b.  c.  Not 
against  the  Vedas  did  he  utter  protest,  but  only  against 
pervjerse  practices  and  a  falsification  of  the  ancient  faith. 

The  caste  system  of  India  can  easily  be  justified  and  it  can 
as  easily  be  condemned,  for  there  are  two  diametrically 
opposite  views  of  caste  still  extant.  The  four  great  castes 
are  all  said  to  proceed  from  Brahma.  The  highest  or  rul- 
ing caste  proceeds  from   Brahma's  head  ;  the  two  inter- 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        153 

mediary  castes  from  Brahma's  body;  the  lowest  caste 
from  Brahma's  feet.  At  first  sight  it  seems  that  such  a 
classification  necessarily  leads  to  the  exaltation  of  some  and 
the  humiliation  of  others,  but  a  deeper  study  of  the  state- 
ment serves  to  dispel  that  illusion,  because  we  are  at  once 
reminded  that  a  divine  body  is  equally  good  in  all  its 
parts,  therefore  to  proceed  from  divine  feet  is  to  be  in- 
trinsically as  holy  as  though  one  had  issued  from  the  divine 
head.  The  four  great  castes  are  intended  to  do  distinct 
kinds  of  work  in  the  world,  and  are  qualified  accordingly ; 
and  as  all  useful  work  is  honorable,  no  one  can  be  degraded 
or  should  any  one  be  despised  because  he  does  any  por- 
tion of  it. 

Then  again,  when  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation  is  con- 
sidered it  may  be  fairly  argued  that  those  now  in  the 
highest  caste  have  come  up  through  a  succession  of  lives 
from  the  very  lowest,  and  those  now  in  the  lowest  are  des- 
tined to  make  their  way  upward  even  to  the  highest. 
Such  a  doctrine  is  consistent  with  the  claim  of  universal 
brotherhood,  and  has  no  connection  whatever  with  Calvin's 
misconceptions  of  election  which  made  the  teaching  of 
Paul  hideous  through  such  gross  perversions  of  its  mean- 
ing. We  hear  much  of  the  inferior  place  assigned  to 
women  in  India,  and  we  are  told  that  the  Hindu  Scriptures 
sanction  female  degradation.  Here  again  we  protest  that 
only  degraded  notions  and  practices  have  obscured  the  prim- 
itive faith  and  practice,  for  if  we  but  remember  that  the 
.same  soul  is  said  to  live  alternately  on  earth  in  male  and 
jfemale  bodies,  it  is  ridiculous  to  assume  that  either  man  or 
'woman  can  be  the  higher  of  the  two.  Sir  Monier  Will- 
iams has  told  us  that  all  the  gods  of  India  have  wives,  and 
that  goddesses  hold  equal  rank  with  gods  in  Hindu  mythol- 


154  Universal  Spiritualism 

ogy.  This  is  so,  and  it  is  equally  the  case  with  Egyptian, 
Greek  and  all  other  mythologic  systems,  though,  as  in  the 
history  of  Judaism  and  Christianity,  there  have  been  times 
when  an  exclusively  male  priesthood  has  monopolized  all 
religious  functions,  and  never  without  introducing  bar- 
barity and  bloodshed.  There  are  no  venerable  Scrip- 
tures extant  which  do  not  give  abundant  evidence  that  men 
and  women,  in  days  of  pristine  purity,  were  regarded  as  of 
equal  rank  and  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  heaven  and  earth  ; 
we  therefore  rejoice  in  every  effort  made  in  India,  as  in 
other  lands,  to  reinstate  woman  in  her  rightful  place  as 
man's  coequal,  neither  higher  nor  lower  than  her  brother. 
If  we  find  practices  in  India  which  are  revolting  to  our 
sense  of  equity,  let  us  protest  against  them,  but  let  us  not 
fall  into  the  foolish  popular  error  of  confounding  decadent 
ibeliefs  and  customs  with  the  original  sublimities  of  Vedanta 
philosophy. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  Theosophical  Society, 
which  soon  after  its  formation  in  New  York,  in  1875,  es- 
tablished its  headquarters  in  India,  depended  more  upon  a 
woman  (H.  P.  Blavatsky)  than  upon  any  man  for  the  in- 
troduction of  Eastern  philosophy  to  the  West,  and  to-day 
another  remarkable  woman  (Annie  Besant)  is  unveiling 
the  ancient  Hindu  doctrines  to  the  Occident.  We  are 
quite  well  aware  that  there  are  Hindus  who  resent  and 
oppose  the  work  of  a  woman,  born  in  another  land,  who 
gathers  disciples  around  her  in  ancient  India  and  unfolds 
to  them  some  of  the  mysteries  of  their  own  most  venerated 
books;  but  it  has  never  occurred  in  the  history  of  any 
renaissance  and  reform  that  some  self-interested  and  ultra- 
conservative  element  has  not  arisen  to  put  obstacles  in  the 
path  of  the  reformer.     We  must  not  judge  Hindu  phil- 


Hindu  Conceptions  of  the  Soul        155 

osophy  in  its  original  purity  by  the  encrustations  which 
have  long  obscured  it ;  and  considering  the  attitude  of 
the  average  Briton  to  the  native  population  of  India,  we 
need  not  wonder  that  suspicion  is  aroused  in  some  quar- 
ters whenever  a  member  of  the  invading  and  conquering 
race  appears  as  a  friend  of  the  ancient  religion  which 
Christian  missionaries  have  sought  in  vain  to  overthrow. 
To  purify  from  foul  accretions  is  a  noble  work,  and  one  in 
which  enlightened  people  of  all  nations  can  unitedly  en- 
gage ;  but  to  substitute  orthodox  Christianity  for  Hinduism 
will  prove  an  impossible  attempt,  as  the  philosophic  Hindu 
mind  can  never  be  induced  to  accept  it.  In  Ceylon, 
where  the  Theosophical  Society  long  ago  established  an 
excellent  school  for  Buddhist  girls  at  Colombo,  the  same 
kindly  feeling  has  been  spreading  between  the  British  and 
.the  Cinghalese  which  was  largely  promoted  by  Sir  Edwin 
Arnold,  whose  "  Light  of  Asia  "  was  accepted  by  the  chief 
representatives  of  Southern  Buddhism  as  a  truthful  ex- 
position of  the  Buddhist  faith.  To  the  Western  intellect 
that  well-known  and  greatly  admired  poem  fails  to  make 
quite  clear  what  Buddhists  really  believe  concerning  the 
destiny  of  the  soul ;  but  this  at  least  is  clear  that  they 
have  a  distinct  conception  of  an  ever-ascending  life,  and 
though  there  are  agnostics  and  pessimists  among  them, 
their  real  faith  is  quite  in  harmony  with  the  Unitarian 
declaration  concerning  the  progress  of  humanity  onward 
and  upward  forever.  Tradition  declares  that  Gautama 
reached  Nirvana  while  yet  he  lived  on  earth,  and  as  Nir- 
vana only  means  conquest  over  every  selfish  appetite  and 
personal  desire  apart  from  the  life  of  others,  we  can  readily 
see  how  easily  one  may  believe  that  a  true  Master  may 
have  entered  a  state  of  serene  blessedness,  at  one  with  all 


156  Universal  Spiritualism 

life,  and  still  retain  individual  self-consciousness  in  this  or 
in  any  other  sphere  of  Spiritual  activity. 

In  the  next  chapter  we  present  the  views  of  one  of  the 
Hindu  delegates  to  the  World's  Parliament  of  Religions, 
expressed  in  a  lecture  presented  to  us  by  its  author,  the 
genial  Swami  Vivekananda,  who  after  returning  to  his 
native  India  soon  peacefully  quitted  his  earthly  condition 
and  passed  into  the  ranks  of  those  unseen  ministers  who 
keep  faithful  watch  over  the  progress  of  incarnate  human- 
ity and,  oftener  than  any  of  us  think,  inspire  our  efforts  to 
reach  the  goal  that  they,  with  us,  are  still  pursuing. 


CHAPTER  X 

VEDANTA  PHILOSOPHY 

The  following  lecture  on  *'  The  Atman,"  by  the  Swami  Viveka- 
nanda,  delegate  to  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  Chicago,  1893,  was 
originally  delivered  under  the  auspices  of  the  Brooklyn  Ethical  As- 
sociation, February  2,  1896,  and  presented  to  the  author  of  this 
volume  by  the  gifted  lecturer,  who  has  since  departed  to  spirit  life. 
In  1899  at  Greenacre,  a  charming  resort  on  the  border  line  between 
New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  conducted  by  Miss  Sarah  Farmer  (a 
true  philanthropist)  we  were  privileged  to  sit  under  the  trees  and 
listen  to  the  following  philosophy  : 

Ci)    The  Differentiated  :     Persoyial  God. 

(2)  The  Partially  Differentiated :     Immanent  God. 

(3)  The  Undifferentiated  :     Impersonal  God. 

Many  of  you  have  read  Max  Miiller's  celebrated  book. 
*'  Three  lectures  on  the  Vedanta  Philosophy,"  and  some 
of  you  may,  perhaps,  have  read  in  German,  Professor 
Deussen's  book  on  the  same  philosophy.  In  much  that  is 
written  and  taught  in  the  West  about  the  religious  thought 
of  India  one  school  of  Indian  thought  is  principally  repre- 
sented, that  which  is  called  "Advaitism,"  the  monistic 
side  of  Indian  religion  ;  and  sometimes  it  is  thought  that 
all  the  teachings  of  the  Vedas  are  comprised  in  that  one 
system  of  philosophy.  There  have,  however,  been  various 
phases  of  Indian  thought,  and  perhaps  this  non-dualistic 
form  is  in  the  minority  as  compared  with  the  other  phases. 
From  the  most  ancient  times  there  have  been  various  sects 
of  thought  in  India,  and,  as  there  never  was  a  formulated 

157 


158  Universal  Spiritualism 

or  recognized  church  or  any  body  of  men  to  designate  the 
doctrines  which  should  be  beheved  by  each  school,  people 
were  very  free  to  choose  their  own  form,  make  their  own 
philosophy  and  establish  their  own  sects.  We,  therefore, 
find  that  from  the  most  ancient  times  India  was  full  of  re- 
ligious sects.  At  the  present  time  I  do  not  know  how 
many  hundreds  of  sects  we  have  in  India,  and  several 
fresh  ones  are  coming  into  existence  every  year.  It  seems 
that  the  religious  activity  of  that  nation  is  simply  inex- 
haustible. 

Of  these  various  sects,  in  the  first  place,  there  can  be 
made  two  main  divisions,  the  orthodox  and  the  unortho- 
dox. Those  that  believe  in  the  Hindu  Scriptures,  the 
Vedas,  as  eternal  revelations  of  truth  are  called  orthodox, 
and  those  that  stand  on  other  authority,  rejecting  the 
Vedas,  are  the  heterodox  in  India.  The  chief  modern  un- 
orthodox Hindu  sects  are  the  Jains  and  the  Buddhists. 
Excepting  these,  the  orthodox  Hindu  sects  comprise 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  Hindu  population  of  India  at  the 
present  time,  and  all  admit  the  authority  of  the  Hindu 
Scriptures,  the  Vedas.  Some  of  them  declare  that  the 
Scriptures  are  of  much  higher  authority  than  reason ;  oth- 
ers, again  say  that  only  that  portion  of  the  Scriptures 
which  is  rational  should  be  taken  and  the  rest  rejected. 

They,  also,  form  various  sects.  These  sects  were  di- 
vided into  three  groups — the  Sankhyas,  the  Naiyayikas 
and  the  Mimamsakas.  Of  these  three  groups  two,  the 
Sankhyas  and  the  Naiyayikas,  although  they  existed  as 
philosophical  schools,  failed  to  form  any  sect.  The  one 
sect  that  now  really  covers  India  is  that  of  the  later  Mi- 
mamsakas, or  the  Vedantists.  Their  philosophy  is  called 
Vedantism.     All  the  various  philosophies  are  based  on  the 


Vedanta  Philosophy  159 

Vedantas,  the  Hindu  Scriptures,  but  the  moiusts  took  the 
name  to  themselves  as  a  specialty,  because  they  wanted  to 
base  the  whole  of  their  theology  and  philosophy  upon  the 
Vedas  and  nothing  else,  and  in  the  course  of  time  they 
prevailed,  and  all  the  various  sects  of  India  that  now  exist 
can  be  referred  to  some  form  of  these  Vedantists.  Yet 
these  Vedantists  are  not  unanimous  in  their  opinions. 

We  find  now  that  there  are  three  principal  variations 
among  the  sects.  On  one  point  they  all  agree,  and  that  is 
that  they  all  believe  in  God.  All  these  Vedantists  also  be- 
lieve the  Vedas  to  be  the  revealed  word  of  that  God,  not 
exactly  in  the  same  sense,  perhaps,  as  the  Christians  or  the 
Mahommedans  believe,  or  the  Buddhists,  but  in  a  very  pe- 
culiar sense.  Their  idea  is  that  the  Vedas  are  an  expression 
of  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  as  God  is  eternal.  His 
knowledge  is  eternally  with  Him,  and  so  are  the  Vedas  eter- 
nal. There  is  another  common  ground  of  belief;  the  be- 
lief in  the  creation  in  cycles ;  that  the  whole  of  this  crea- 
tion is  appearing  and  disappearing ;  it  is  projected  and  be- 
comes grosser  and  grosser,  and  that  at  the  end  of  an  incal- 
culable period  of  time  the  whole  thing  becomes  finer  and 
dissolves,  and  subsides,  and  then  comes  a  period  of  rest. 
Again,  it  begins  to  appear.  They  admit  one  material, 
which  they  call  ''akasa,"  something  like  the  present  ether 
theory  of  the  scientists,  and  a  power  which  they  call 
"prana."  About  this  prana  they  declare  that  by  its  vi- 
bration all  the  universe  is  produced.  When  a  cycle  ends, 
all  this  manifestation  of  nature  becomes  finer  and  finer  and 
dissolves  back  to  that  akasa,  that  ether,  which  cannot  be 
seen  or  felt,  yet  out  of  which  everything  is  manufactured. 
All  the  forces  that  we  see  in  nature,  either  as  gravitation, 
or  attraction,  or  repulsion,  or  as  thought,  as  feeling,  as 


l6o  Universal  Spiritualism 

nervous  motion — all  these  various  forces  resolve  into  that 
prana,  and  the  vibration  of  that  prana  ceases ;  in  that  state 
it  remains  until  the  beginning  of  the  next  cycle.  Prana 
then  begins  to  vibrate,  and  that  vibration  acts  upon  the 
akasa,  and  all  these  forms  are  thrown  out  in  regular  suc- 
cession. 

The  first  sect  about  whom  I  want  to  speak  to  you  is 
that  which  we  style  in  India  the  ''Dualists."  The  Dual- 
ists are  those  who  believe  that  God,  who  is  the  Creator  of 
the  universe  and  its  Ruler,  is  eternally  separate  from  na- 
ture, eternally  separate  from  the  human  soul.  The  souls, 
according  to  all  the  different  theories,  are  eternal,  God  is 
eternal ;  nature  is  eternal ;  so  are  all  souls.  Nature  and 
the  souls  become  manifested  and  change,  but  God  remains 
the  same.  According  to  the  Dualists,  again,  this  God  is 
personal,  in  that  He  has  qualities,  not  that  He  has 
body.  No  sect  believes  that  God  has  body,  only  that 
He  has  human  attributes ;  He  is  merciful ;  He  is  just ;  He 
is  powerful ;  He  is  almighty ;  He  can  be  approached ; 
He  can  be  prayed  to;  He  can  be  loved;  He  loves 
in  return,  and  so  forth.  In  one  word.  He  is  a  Human 
God,  only  infinitely  greater  than  man;  He  has  none 
of  the  evil  qualities  which  men  have.  '*  He  is  the 
repository  of  an  infinite  number  of  blessed  qualities  "  ; 
that  is  their  definition.  This  God  is  creating  this  universe 
out  of  nature.  He  cannot  create  without  materials,  and 
nature  is  the  material  out  of  which  He  creates  this  whole 
universe.  Some  of  the  Dualists  are  what  they  call  the 
"  Atomists,"  who  believe  that  this  nature  is  nothing  but  an 
infinite  number  of  atoms,  and  God's  will,  acting  upon 
these  atoms,  creates.  The  Vedantists  deny  the  atomic 
theory ;  they  say  this  theory  is  perfectly  illogical.     Sup- 


Vedanta  Philosophy  l6l 

posing  there  were  atoms,  according  to  the  theory  atoms 
must  be  indivisible.  They  are  like  geometrical  points, 
without  parts  or  magnitude,  but  something  without  parts 
or  magnitude,  if  multiplied  an  infinite  number  of  times, 
will  remain  the  same.  Anything  that  has  no  parts  will 
never  make  something  that  has  parts;  any  number  of 
zeros  added  together  will  not  make  one  single  whole  num- 
ber. So,  if  these  atoms  are  such  that  they  have  no  parts 
or  magnitude,  out  of  such  atoms  the  creation  of  the  uni- 
verse is  simply  impossible.  Therefore,  according  to  the 
Vedantic  Dualists,  there  is  this  nature,  which  they  call 
indiscreet  or  undifferentiated,  and  out  of  that  God  creates 
this  universe.  The  vast  mass  of  Indian  people  are  Dualists. 
Human  nature  ordinarily  cannot  conceive  of  anything 
higher  than  this.  We  find  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion of  this  earth  of  ours  who  believe  in  any  religion  are 
Dualists.  All  the  religions  of  Europe  and  Western  Asia 
are  Dualistic ;  they  have  to  be  ;  they  cannot  think  of  any- 
thing which  is  not  concrete.  Man  naturally  likes  to  cling 
to  that  which  his  intellect  can  grasp.  That  is  to  say,  he 
can  only  conceive  of  higher  spiritual  ideas  by  bringing 
them  down  to  his  own  level.  He  can  only  grasp  abstract 
thoughts  by  making  them  concrete.  This  is  the  religion 
of  the  mass  of  mankind  all  over  the  world.  They  believe 
in  a  God  who  is  entirely  separate  from  them,  as  it  were,  a 
great  king,  a  high,  mighty  monarch.  At  the  same  time 
they  make  Him  purer  than  the  monarchs  of  the  earth  ; 
they  give  Him  all  good  qualities  and  remove  the  evil 
qualities  from  Him.  As  if  it  were  ever  possible  for  good 
to  exist  without  evil ;  as  if  there  could  be  any  conception 
of  light  without  a  conception  of  darkness  ! 

With  all  Dualistic  theories  the  first  difficulty  to  present 


i62  Universal  Spiritualism 

itself  would  be,  How  is  it  possible  that,  under  the  rule  of  a 
just  and  merciful  God,  the  repository  of  an  infinite  number 
of  good  qualities,  there  can  be  so  many  evils  in  this  world  ? 
This  question  has  arisen  in  all  Dualistic  religions,  but  the 
Hindus  never  invented  a  Satan  as  an  answer  to  it.  All  of 
these  sects,  with  one  accord,  lay  the  blame  on  man  him- 
self, and  it  was  easy  for  them  to  do  this.  How  ?  Because, 
as  I  have  just  now  told  you,  they  do  not  believe  that  souls 
were  created  out  of  nothing.  We  see  in  this  life  that  we 
shape  and  can  form  all  our  own  future ;  every  one  of  us, 
every  day,  is  trying  to  shape  to-morrow.  To-day  we  fix 
the  fate  of  to-morrow ;  to-morrow  we  will  fix  the  fate  of 
the  day  after  to-morrow,  and  so  on.  It  is  quite  logical 
that  this  reasoning  can  be  pushed  backward,  too.  If,  by 
our  own  deeds,  we  shape  our  destiny  in  the  future,  why 
not  apply  the  same  rule  to  the  past  ?  If,  in  an  infinite 
chain,  a  certain  number  of  links,  repeated  alternately, 
eternally  recur,  then,  if  one  of  these  groups  be  explained, 
we  can  explain  the  whole  chain.  So,  in  this  infinite  length 
of  time,  if  we  can  cut  off  one  portion  and  explain  that  por- 
tion and  understand  it,  then,  if  it  be  true  that  nature  is 
uniform,  the  same  explanation  must  apply  to  the  whole 
chain  of  time.  If  it  be  true  that  we  are  working  out  our 
own  destiny  here  within  this  short  space  of  time,  if  it  be 
true  that  everything  must  have  a  cause  as  we  see  it  now, 
it  must  also  be  true  that  that  which  we  are  now  is  the  effect 
of  the  whole  of  the  past;  therefore,  no  other  person  is 
necessary  to  shape  the  destiny  of  mankind  but  man  him- 
self. The  evils  that  are  in  this  world  are  caused  by  none 
else  but  ourselves.  We  have  caused  all  this  evil ;  and, 
just  as  we  constantly  see  misery  resulting  from  evil  actions, 
so  we  can  also  see  that  much  of  the  existing  misery  in  the 


Vedanta  Philosophy  163 

world  is  the  effect  of  past  wickedness  in  man.  Man  alone, 
therefore,  according  to  this  theory,  is  responsible ;  God  is 
not  to  blame ;  He  the  eternally  merciful  Father  is  not  to 
blame  at  all.     "  We  reap  that  we  sow." 

Another  peculiar  doctrine  is  that  every  soul  must  eventu- 
ally come  to  salvation.  No  one  will  be  left.  Through 
various  vicissitudes,  through  various  sufferings  and  enjoy- 
ments, in  the  end,  each  one  of  them  will  come  out.  Come 
out  of  what  ?  The  one  common  idea  of  all  Hindu  sects  is 
that  all  souls  have  to  get  out  of  this  universe.  Neither  that 
universe  which  we  now  see  and  feel  or  even  that  which  we 
can  imagine,  is  the  right,  the  real  one,  because  both  are 
mixed  up  with  good  and  evil.  According  to  the  Dualists, 
there  is  beyond  this  universe  one  where  there  is  only  hap- 
piness and  only  good  and,  what  is  much  dearer  to  them, 
where  there  will  be  no  more  necessity  of  being  born  and 
reborn,  of  living  and  dying.  No  more  death  there ;  no 
more  disease.  It  will  be  eternal  happiness,  where  they 
will  be  in  the  presence  of  God  for  all  time  and  enjoy  God 
forever.  They  beheve  that  all  beings,  from  the  lowest 
worm  up  to  the  highest  angels  and  gods,  will  all,  sooner  or 
later,  come  to  that  world  where  there  will  be  no  more 
misery.  But  this  world  will  never  stop ;  it  goes  on  in- 
finitely, although  moving  in  waves  and  falls.  Although 
moving  in  cycles,  it  never  ends.  The  number  of  souls 
that  are  to  be  saved,  that  are  to  be  perfected,  is  infinite. 
Some  are  in  plants ;  some  are  in  lower  animals ;  some  are 
in  men ;  some  are  in  gods,  but  all  of  them,  even  the  high- 
est gods,  are  imperfect,  are  in  bondage.  What  is  the 
bondage  ?  The  necessity  of  being  born  and  the  necessity 
of  dying.  Even  the  highest  gods  die.  What  are  these 
gods,  again?     They  mean  certain  states,  certain  offices. 


164  Universal  Spiritualism 

For  instance,  Indra,  the  king  of  gods,  means  a  certain  of- 
fice ;  some  soul  which  was  very  high  has  gone  to  fill  that 
post  in  this  cycle,  and  after  this  cycle  he  will  be  born  again 
as  man  and  come  down,  and  the  man  who  is  very  good  in 
this  cycle  will  go  and  fill  that  post  in  the  next  cycle.  So 
with  all  these  gods ;  they  are  certain  offices  which  have 
been  filled  alternately  by  millions  and  millions  of  souls, 
who,  after  filling  that  office,  all  came  down  and  became 
men.  Those  who  do  good  works  in  this  world,  help  oth- 
ers, but  with  an  eye  to  reward,  hoping  to  reach  heaven  or 
to  get  praise  of  their  fellow  men,  must,  when  they  die, 
have  the  benefit,  the  reward  of  these  good  works,  so  they 
become  these  gods.  But  that  is  not  salvation ;  salvation 
never  will  come  through  this  hope  of  reward.  Whatever 
man  desires  the  Lord  gives  him  that.  Men  desire  power ; 
they  desire  prestige ;  they  desire  enjoyments  as  gods,  and 
they  get  these  desires  fulfilled,  but  no  effect  of  work  can 
be  eternal ;  the  power  of  any  work  will  be  finished  after  a 
certain  length  of  time ;  it  may  be  eons,  but  after  that  it 
will  be  finished,  and  these  gods  must  fall  down  again  and 
become  men  and  will  be  given  one  more  chance  for  libera- 
tion. The  lower  animals  will  come  up  and  become  men, 
become  gods,  perhaps,  again  become  men,  or  go  back  to 
animals,  until  will  come  the  time  when  they  will  get  rid 
of  all  this  desire  for  enjoyment,  this  thirst  for  life,  this 
clinging  on  to  the  "  me  and  mine."  This  ''  me  and  mine," 
according  to  the  Hindu  sects,  is  the  very  root  of  all  the 
evil  in  this  world.  If  you  ask  a  Dualist  whose  child  this 
will  be  if  it  is  not  mine,  he  will  say,  ''It  is  God's  "  ;  if  my 
property  is  not  mine,  *'  It  is  God's."  Everything  should 
be  held  as  God's. 

Now,  these  Dualistic  sects  in  India  are  great  vegetarians, 


Vedanta  Philosophy  165 

great  preachers  of  non-killing  of  animals.  But  their  idea 
about  it  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  Buddhist.  If 
you  ask  a  Buddhist,  "Why  do  you  preach  against  killing 
any  animal?"  he  says,  '*We  have  no  right  to  take  any 
life,"  and  if  you  ask  a  Dualist,  ''  Why  do  you  not  kill  any 
animal?"  he  says,  ''Because  it  is  the  Lord's."  So  the 
Dualist  says  that  this  "  me  and  mine  "  is  to  be  applied  to 
God  and  God  alone;  He  is  the  only  "me,"  and  every- 
thing is  His.  When  a  man  has  come  to  that  state  that  he 
has  no  "  me  and  mine,"  when  everything  is  given  up  to 
the  Lord,  when  he  loves  everybody  and  is  ready  even  to 
give  up  his  life  for  a  little  animal,  without  any  desire  for 
reward,  then  his  heart  will  be  purified,  and  when  the  heart 
has  been  purified  then  into  that  heart  will  come  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  inherent  in  every  soul.  This  God  is  the 
very  centre  of  attraction  for  every  soul,  and  the  Dualist 
says,  "  If  you  take  a  needle  and  cover  it  up  with  clay  that 
needle  will  not  be  attracted  by  a  magnet,  but  as  soon  as 
the  clay  has  been  washed  off,  the  needle  will  be  attracted 
by  the  magnet."  God  is  the  magnet,  and  the  human  soul 
is  the  needle,  and  his  evil  works  the  dirt  and  dust  that 
cover  it.  As  soon  as  the  soul  is  clear  it  will  come  by  its 
natural  attraction  to  God  and  remain  with  Him  forever, 
but  will  remain  eternally  separate  from  God.  Each  soul, 
if  it  wishes,  can  take  any  form ;  will  be  able  to  make  a 
hundred  bodies  if  it  wishes  or  to  have  no  body  at  all,  if  it 
so  desires.  It  will  be  almost  almighty,  except  that  it  will 
be  unable  to  create ;  that  belongs  to  God  alone.  None, 
however  perfect,  can  manage  the  affairs  of  this  universe ; 
that  belongs  to  God.  But  all  souls,  when  they  become 
perfect,  become  happy  forever  and  live  eternally  with  God. 
This  is  the  Dualistic  statement. 


l66  Universal  Spiritualism 

One  other  idea  the  Dualists  preach.  They  protest 
against  the  idea  of  praying  to  God,  *'  Lord,  give  me  this 
and  give  me  that."  They  think  that  should  not  be  done. 
If  man  must  ask  some  material  gift  he  should  ask  inferior 
beings  for  that ;  ask  one  of  these  gods,  or  the  angels,  or  a 
perfected  being  for  such  things.  God  is  only  to  be  loved. 
It  is  almost  a  blasphemy  to  pray  to  God,  "  Lord,  give  me 
this  and  give  me  that."  According  to  the  Dualists,  there- 
fore, what  a  man  wants  sooner  or  later  he  will  get,  by 
praying  to  one  of  the  gods,  but  if  he  wants  salvation  he 
must  worship  God.  This  is  the  religion  of  the  masses  of 
India. 

Above  them  are  what  we  call  the  quahfied  non-Dualists, 
with  whom  the  real  Vedanta  philosophy  begins.  They 
make  the  statement  that  the  effect  is  never  different  from 
the  cause  ;  the  effect  is  but  the  cause  reproduced  in  another 
form.  If  this  universe  is  the  effect  and  God  the  cause,  it 
must  be  God  Himself — it  cannot  be  anything  but  that.  If 
any  nature  exists  separate  from  God  Himself,  it  also  will  be 
infinite ;  so  will  be  time  and  space.  Thus  multiplied, 
there  will  be  millions  of  infinite  and  independent  exist- 
ences, which  is  not  reasonable.  They  start,  therefore, 
with  the  assertion  that  God  is  both  the  efficient  and  material 
cause  of  this  universe ;  that  He  Himself  is  the  Creator,  and 
He  Himself  is  the  material  out  of  which  the  whole  of  nature 
is  projected.  The  word  which  is  **  creation  "  in  your 
language  is,  in  Sanskrit,  exactly  *'  projection,"  because 
there  is  no  sect  in  India  which  believes  in  creation,  as  it  is 
regarded  in  the  West,  a  something  coming  out  of  nothing. 
It  seems  at  one  time  there  were  a  few  that  had  some  such 
idea,  but  they  were  very  quickly  silenced.  At  the  present 
time  I  do  not  know  of  any  sect  that  believes  this.     What 


Vedanta  Philosophy  167 

wc  m«an  by  creation  is  projection  of  that  which  already 
existed.  Now,  this  whole  universe,  according  to  this  sect, 
is  God  Himself.  He  is  the  material  of  this  universe.  We 
read  from  the  Vedas,  "  As  the  uranabha  spider  takes  the 
thread  out  of  his  own  body  and  draws  it  in,  even  so  this 
whole  universe  has  come  out  of  that  Being." 

If  the  effect  is  the  cause  reproduced,  the  question  is, 
how  do  we  find  this  material,  dull,  unintelligent  universe 
produced  as  the  manifestation  of  God,  who  is  not  material, 
who  is  eternal  intelligence  ?  How,  if  the  cause  is  pure  and 
perfect,  is  the  effect  quite  different  ?  What  do  these  quali- 
fied non-Dualists  say  ?  Theirs  is  a  very  peculiar  theory. 
They  say  that  these  three  existencies,  God,  and  nature,  and 
the  soul,  are  One.  God,  is,  as  it  were,  the  soul ;  and 
nature  and  souls  are  the  body  of  God.  Just  as  I  have  a 
body  and  I  have  a  soul,  so  this  whole  universe  and  my  soul 
also  are  the  body  of  God,  and  God  is  the  soul  of  my  soul. 
Thus  God  is  the  material  cause  of  the  universe.  The  body 
may  be  changed — may  be  young  or  old,  strong  or  weak — 
but  that  does  not  change  the  soul  at  all.  It  is  the  same 
eternal  existence,  manifesting  through  the  body.  Bodies 
fall  off  one  after  another,  but  the  soul  does  not  change. 
Even  so  this  whole  universe  is  the  body  of  God,  and  in 
that  sense  it  is  God.  But  the  change  in  this  universe  does 
not  affect  God.  Out  of  this  material  He  creates  this  uni- 
verse, and  at  the  end  of  a  cycle  His  body  becomes  finer,  it 
contracts,  and  at  the  beginning  of  another  cycle  it  becomes 
expanded  again,  and  out  of  it  evolve  all  these  different 
worlds. 

Now,  both  the  Dualists  and  the  qualified  non-Dualists 
admit  that  the  soul  is  by  its  nature  pure,  but  through  its 
own  deeds  it  is  made  impure.     The  qualified  non- Dualists 


l68  Universal  Spiritualism 

express  it  more  beautifully  than  the  Dualists,  by  saying 
that  the  soul's  purity  and  perfection  become  contracted  and 
again  become  manifest,  and  that  what  we  are  now  trying  to 
do  is  to  manfest  the  intelligence,  the  purity,  the  power 
which  is  natural  to  the  soul.  Souls  have  a  multitude  of 
quahties,  but  not  that  of  almightiness  or  all-knowingness. 
This  is  the  nature  of  the  soul.  It  has  become  contracted 
through  past  misdeeds,  every  wicked  deed  contracts  the 
nature  of  the  soul,  and  every  good  deed  expands  the  nature 
of  the  soul,  and  these  souls  are  all  part  of  God.  ''  As  from 
a  mass  of  fire  millions  of  sparks  fly,  of  the  same  nature,  the 
same  ingredients,  yet  not  the  same,  so  even  from  this 
infinite  Being,  God,  these  souls  have  come.  Each  has  the 
same  nature,  yet  not  the  same."  Each  has  the  same  goal. 
The  God  of  the  qualified  non-Dualists  is  also  the  Personal 
God,  the  repository  of  an  infinite  number  of  blessed 
qualities,  only  He  is  interpenetrating  everything  in  the 
universe.  He  is  immanent  in  everything  and  everywhere, 
and  where  the  Scriptures  say  that  God  is  everything  they 
say  that  that  means  that  God  is  interpenetrating  every- 
thing, not  that  God  has  become  the  wall,  but  that  God  is 
in  the  wall.  There  is  not  a  particle,  not  an  atom  in  the 
universe  where  He  is  not,  both  internal  and  external. 
The  souls  are  all  limited ;  they  are  not  omnipresent ;  each 
soul  is  very,  very  limited,  but  they  get  expansion  of  their 
powers  and  become  perfect.  No  more  is  there  birth  and 
death  for  these  souls ;  they  live  with  God  forever. 

Now  we  come  to  the  Advaitist,  the  last,  and  what  we 
think  the  fairest  flower  of  philosophy  and  religion  that  any 
country  in  any  age  has  produced,  where  human  thought 
attains  its  highest  expression  and  even  goes  beyond  the 
mystery  which  seems  to  be  impenetrable.     This  is  thenon- 


Vedanta  Philosophy  169 

Dualistic  Vedantism.  It  is  too  abstruse,  too  elevated  to  be 
the  religion  of  the  masses.  Even  in  India,  its  birthplace, 
where  it  has  been  ruling  supreme  for  the  last  three  thou- 
sand years,  it  is  not  able  to  permeate  the  masses.  As  we 
go  on  we  will  find  that  it  is  difficult  for  even  the  most 
thinking  man  and  woman  in  any  country  to  understand 
Advaitism.  We  have  made  ourselves  so  weak ;  we  have 
made  ourselves  so  low.  We  may  make  great  claims,  but 
we  naturally  want  to  lean  on  somebody  else.  We  are  like 
little,  weak  plants,  always  wanting  a  support.  How  many 
times  I  am  asked  for  a  "  comfortable  religion  ' '  ;  very  few 
ask  for  the  truth.  Fewer  still  dare  to  learn  the  truth,  and 
fewest  of  all  dare  follow  truth  in  its  practical  bearings.  It 
is  not  their  fault ;  it  is  all  the  weakness  in  the  brain.  Any 
new  thought,  especially  of  a  high  kind,  creates  a  disturb- 
ance, wants  to  make  a  new  channel,  as  it  were,  in  the  brain 
matter,  and  that  unhinges  the  system,  throws  men  off  their 
balance.  Then  come  a  hundred  sorts  of  surroundings,  a 
huge  mass  of  ancient  superstitions,  paternal  superstition, 
class  superstition,  city  superstition,  country  superstition, 
and  beyond  this  all  the  vast  mass  of  superstition  that  is  in- 
nate in  the  human  being.  Yet  there  are  a  few  brave  souls 
in  this  world  who  dare  conceive  the  truth,  who  dare  take  it 
up,  and  who  dare  follow  it  up  to  the  last  end. 

What  does  the  Advaitist  declare?  He  says,  if  there  is  a 
God,  that  God  must  be  both  the  material  and  the  efficient 
cause  of  the  universe.  Not  only  is  He  the  Creator,  but  He 
is  also  the  created.  He  Himself  is  this  universe.  How 
can  that  be?  God,  the  pure,  the  spirit,  has  become  this 
universe  ?  Yes ;  apparently.  That  which  all  ignorant 
people  see,  this  universe,  does  not  exist.  You  and  I  and 
all  these  things  we  see,  what  are  these  ?     Mere  self-hypno- 


lyo  Universal  Spiritualism 

tisms;  there  is  but  One  Existence,  the  Infinite,  the  ever  ex- 
isting  One.  In  that  Existence  we  dream  all  these  various 
dreams.  It  is  the  Atman,  beyond  all,  the  Infinite,  beyond 
the  known,  beyond  the  knowable ;  in  and  through  That  we 
see  this  universe.  It  is  the  only  reality.  It  is  this  table ; 
It  is  the  F  aience  before  me ;  It  is  the  wall ;  It  is  every- 
thing, minus  the  name  and  form.  Take  the  form  of  the 
table,  take  away  the  name  ;  what  remains  is  that  It.  The 
Vedantist  does  not  call  It  either  He  or  She ;  these  are 
fictions,  delusions  of  the  human  brain ;  there  is  no  sex  in 
the  soul.  People  who  are  under  illusion,  who  have  become 
like  animals,  see  a  woman  or  a  man  ;  living  gods  do  not  see 
men  or  women.  How  can  they  who  are  beyond  every- 
thing have  any  sex  idea  ?  Every  one  and  everything  is  the 
Atman — the  Self — the  sexless,  the  pure,  the  ever  blessed. 
It  is  name  and  form  that  makes  the  difference.  It  is  the 
name,  the  form,  the  body,  which  are  material,  and  they 
make  all  this  difference.  If  you  take  off  these  two  differ- 
ences of  name  and  form,  the  whole  universe  is  One  ;  there 
are  no  two,  no  three,  but  One  everywhere.  You  and  I  are 
one.  There  is  neither  nature,  nor  God,  nor  the  universe, 
only  that  One  Infinite  Existence,  out  of  which,  through 
name  and  form,  all  these  are  manufactured.  How  to 
know  the  Knower?  It  cannot  be  known.  How  can  you 
see  your  own  Self?  You  can  only  reflect  yourself.  So  all 
this  universe  is  the  reflection  of  that  One  Eternal  Being, 
the  Atman,  and,  as  the  reflection  falls  upon  good  or  bad  re- 
flectors, good  or  bad  images  are  cast  up.  So,  in  the  mur- 
derer, the  reflector  is  bad  and  not  the  Self.  In  the  saint 
the  reflector  is  pure.  The  Self — the  Atman — is  by  its  own 
nature  pure.  It  is  the  same  that  is  reflecting  itself  from 
the  lowest  worm  to  the  highest  and  most  perfect  beings, 


Vedanta  Philosophy  171 

the  one  Existence  of  the  universe.  The  whole  of  this  uni- 
verse is  One  Unity,  One  Existence,  physically,  mentally, 
morally  and  spiritually.  We  are  looking  upon  this  One 
Existence  in  different  forms  and  creating  all  these  images 
upon  it.  To  the  being  who  has  limited  himself  to  the  con- 
dition of  man  this  world  is  what  he  sees.  Po  the  being 
who  is  on  a  higher  plane  of  existence  it  may  become  like 
heaven.  There  is  but  one  Soul  in  the  universe,  not  two. 
It  neither  comes  nor  goes.  It  neither  reincarnates  nor 
dies,  nor  is  born.  How  can  it?  How  to  die?  Where 
to  go?  All  these  heavens  and  all  these  earths,  and  all 
these  places  are  vain  imaginations  of  the  mind.  They  do 
not  exist;  never  existed  in  the  past  and  never  will  exist  in 
the  future. 

I  am  standing  here,  omnipresent,  eternal.  Where  can  I 
go  ?  Where  am  I  not  already  ?  I  am  reading  this  book  of 
nature.  Page  after  page  I  am  finishing  and  turning  over, 
and  one  dream  of  life  goes  away.  Another  page  of  life  is 
turned  over  ;  another  dream  of  life  comes,  and  it  goes 
away,  rolling  and  rolling,  and  when  I  have  finished  my 
play  I  let  it  go  and  stand  aside,  throw  away  the  book,  and 
the  whole  thing  is  finished.  What  does  the  Advaitist 
preach  ?  He  dethrones  all  the  gods  that  ever  existed,  or 
ever  will  exist  in  the  universe  and  places  on  that  throne  the 
Self  of  man,  the  Atman,  higher  than  the  sun  and  moon, 
higher  than  the  heavens,  more  infinite  than  this  infinite  uni- 
verse itself.  No  books,  no  Scriptures,  no  science  can 
ever  imagine  the  glory  of  that  Self,  that  appears  as  man, 
the  most  glorious  God  that  ever  was,  the  only  God  that 
ever  existed,  ever  exists,  or  ever  will  exist.  I  am  to  wor- 
ship, therefore,  none  but  my  Self.  **  I  worship  my  Self," 
says  the  Advaitist.     Whom  to  bow  down  to  ?     I  salute  my 


172  Universal  Spiritualism 

Self.  Whom  to  go  to  for  help  ?  Who  can  help  me,  the 
Infinite  Being  of  the  universe  ?  These  are  fools'  dreams, 
brain  hallucinations ;  who  ever  helped  any  one  ?  Never. 
Wherever  you  see  a  weak  man,  a  Dualist,  weeping  and 
wailing  for  help  from  somewhere  above  the  skies  it  is  be- 
cause he  does  not  know  that  the  skies  also  are  in  him.  He 
wants  help  from  the  skies,  and  the  help  comes.  We  see 
that  it  comes  ;  but  it  comes  from  within,  and  he  mistakes  it 
as  coming  from  without.  Sometimes  a  sick  man  is  lying 
on  his  bed,  and  he  hears  a  tap  on  the  door.  He  gets  up 
and  opens  the  door.  Nobody.  He  goes  back  to  his  bed, 
and  again  he  hears  the  tap.  He  gets  up  and  opens  the 
door.  Nobody.  At  last  he  finds  that  it  was  his  own  heart 
beating,  which  he  interpreted  as  a  knock  at  the  door. 
Thus  all  this  vain  search  after  the  gods  above,  gods  of  the 
skies,  gods  of  the  water,  after  it  has  completed  the  circle, 
comes  back  to  the  point  from  which  it  started — the  human 
soul — and  man  finds  that  the  God  for  whom  he  was  search- 
ing in  every  hill  and  dale,  for  whom  he  was  seeking  in 
every  little  brook  of  water,  in  every  temple,  in  little 
churches,  in  worse  heavens,  that  God  whom  he  was  even 
imagining  as  sitting  in  heaven  and  ruling  the  world,  is  his 
own  Self.  I  am  He,  and  He  is  I.  None  but  I  was  the 
God,  and  this  little  I  never  existed. 

Yet,  how  could  that  perfect  God  have  been  in  this  delu- 
sion ?  It  never  was.  How  could  a  perfect  God  have  been 
dreaming?  He  never  dreamed.  Truth  never  dreams. 
One  cloud  is  there ;  another  comes  and  pushes  it  aside  and 
takes  its  place.  Another  comes  and  pushes  that  one  out. 
The  very  question  where  did  this  illusion  arise  is  absurd. 
Illusion  arises  from  illusion  alone.  There  will  be  no  illusion 
as  soon  as  the  truth  is  seen.     Illusion  always  rests  upon  il- 


Vedanta  Philosophy  173 

lusion;  it  never  rested  upon  God,  the  Truth,  the  Atman. 
You  are  never  in  the  illusion  ;  it  is  illusion  that  is  in  you, 
before  you.  "As  before  the  eternal  blue  sky  clouds  of 
various  hue  and  color  come ;  they  remain  there  for  a  short 
time  and  again  disappear,  leaving  it  the  same  blue,  eternally 
standing,  even  so  are  you,  eternally  pure,  eternally  perfect ; 
you  are  the  veritable  gods  of  the  universe ;  nay,  there  are 
not  two  ;  there  is  but  One."  It  is  a  mistake  to  say  you  and 
I ;  say  ''I."  It  is  I  who  am  eating  in  millions  of  mouths ; 
how  can  I  be  hungry  ?  It  is  I  who  am  working  in  an  infinite 
number  of  hands ;  how  can  I  be  inactive  ?  It  is  I  who  am 
living  the  life  of  the  whole  universe  ;  where  is  death  for  me  ? 
I  am  beyond  all  life,  beyond  all  death.  Where  to  seek  for 
freedom,  for  I  am  free  by  my  nature  ?  Who  can  make  me 
bound,  the  God  of  this  universe  ?  What  are  these  books  for 
me  ?  These  Scriptures  of  the  world  are  but  little  maps, 
wanting  to  delineate  my  glory,  who  am  the  only  existence 
of  the  universe.     Thus  says  the  Advaitist. 

'^Know  the  truth  and  be  free  in  a  moment."  All  the 
darkness  will  vanish.  When  man  has  seen  himself  as  one 
with  the  infinite  Being  of  the  universe,  when  all  separate- 
ness  has  ceased,  when  all  men,  all  women,  all  angels,  all 
gods,  all  animals,  all  plants,  the  whole  universe  has  been 
melted  into  that  oneness,  then  all  fear  disappears.  Whom 
to  fear?  Can  I  hurt  myself ?  Can  I  kill  myself ?  Can  I 
injure  myself?  Do  you  fear  yourself?  Then  will  all  sor- 
row disappear.  W^hat  can  cause  me  sorrow?  I  am  the 
One  Existence  of  the  universe.  Then  all  jealousies  will 
disappear ;  of  whom  to  be  jealous  ?  Of  myself  ?  Then  all 
bad  feelings  disappear.  Against  whom  will  I  have  this  bad 
feeling?  Against  myself?  There  is  none  in  the  universe 
but  me.     And  this  is  the  way,  says  the  Vedantist,  to  this 


174  Universal  Spiritualism 

knowledge.  Kill  out  this  differentiation,  kill  out  this 
superstition  that  there  are  many.  **  He  who,  in  this  world 
of  many,  sees  that  One  ;  he  who  in  this  mass  of  insentiency 
sees  that  One  Sentient  Being ;  he  who  in  this  world  of 
shadow  catches  that  Reality,  unto  him  belongs  eternal 
peace,  unto  none  else,  unto  none  else." 

These  are  the  salient  points  of  the  three  steps  which  In- 
dian rehgious  thought  has  taken  in  regard  to  God.  We 
have  seen  that  it  began  with  the  Personal,  the  extra  cosmic 
God.  It  went  from  the  external  to  the  internal  cosmic 
body,  God  immanent  in  the  universe,  and  ended  in  identify- 
ing the  Soul  itself  with  that  God,  and  making  one  unit 
Soul  of  all  these  various  manifestations  in  the  universe. 
This  is  the  last  word  of  the  Vedas.  It  begins  with  Dual- 
ism, goes  through  the  qualified  monism  and  ends  in  the 
perfect  monism.  We  have  seen,  also,  how  very  few  in  this 
world  can  come  to  the  last,  dare  believe  in  it,  and  fewer 
still  dare  act  according  to  it.  Yet  we  know  that  therein 
lies  the  explanation  of  all  ethics,  of  morality  and  all  spirituality 
of  the  universe.  Why  is  it  that  every  one  says,  "Do  good  to 
all  others  "  ?  Where  is  the  explanation  ?  Why  is  it  that  all 
great  men  have  preached  the  brotherhood  of  mankind,  and 
greater  men  have  preached  the  brotherhood  of  all  lives  ? 
Why  is  it  so  ?  Because,  whether  they  were  conscious  of  it 
or  not,  behind  all  that,  through  all  their  irrational  and 
personal  superstitions,  was  peering  forth  the  eternal  light  of 
the  Self,  denying  all  manifoldness,  denying  that  there  are 
two  existences  in  the  universe  and  asserting  that  the  whole 
universe  is  but  One. 

•  Again,  the  last  word  gave  us  one  universe,  which, 
through  the  senses  we  see  as  matter,  through  the  intellect 
as  souls  and  through  the  spirit  as  God.     To  the  man  who 


Vedanta  Philosophy  iy_j 

throws  upon  himself  evils,  which  the  world  calls  wicked- 
ness and  evil,  this  very  universe  will  change  and  become  a 
hideous  place ;  to  another  man,  who  wants  enjoyments, 
this  very  universe  will  change  its  appearance  and  become  a 
heaven,  and  to  the  perfect  man  the  whole  thing  will  vanish 
and  become  his  own  Self, 

Now,  as  society  exists  at  the  present  time,  all  these  three 
stages  are  necessary ;  the  one  does  not  deny  the  other ;  one 
is  simply  the  fulfilment  of  the  other.  The  Advaitist,  the 
qualified  Advaitist,  does  not  say  that  Dualism  is  wrong ;  it 
is  a  right  view,  but  a  lower  view.  It  is  not  wrong.  It  is 
on  the  way  to  truth ;  therefore,  hurt  none ;  let  everybody 
work  out  his  own  vision  of  this  universe,  according  to  his 
own  ideas.  Hurt  none,  injure  none,  deny  the  position  of 
none  ;  take  man  where  he  stands,  and,  if  you  can,  lend  him 
a  helping  hand  and  put  him  on  a  higher  platform,  but  do 
not  injure  and  do  not  destroy.  All  will  come  to  truth  in 
the  long  run,  ''when  all  the  desires  of  the  heart  will  be 
vanquished,  then  this  very  mortal  will  become  immortal  "  ; 
then  the  very  man  will  become  God. 

Comment  is  unnecessary.  The  Swami  has  spoken  for 
India  as  well  as  for  himself.  This  is  a  first-hand  utterance 
of  a  native  Hindu  who  has  uttered  faithfully  the  tenets  of 
his  faith.  We  offer  as  a  supplement  to  this  setting  forth  of 
Oriental  philosophy  some  beautiful  verses  by  a  Western 
poet,  Richard  Realf,  which  impress  us  as  a  beautiful  con- 
necting link  between  the  best  thought  of  the  Occident  and 
the  best  thought  of  the  Orient. 


176  Universal  Spiritualism 

SPIRIT  AND  ITS  EXPRESSION 

Fair  are  the  flowers  and  the  children,  but  their  subtle  sug- 
gestion is  fairer ; 

Rare  is  the  roseburst  of  dawn,  but  the  secret  that  clasps  it 
is  rarer, 

Sweet  the  exultance  of  song,  but  the  strain  that  precedes  it 
is  sweeter; 

And  never  was  poem  yet  writ,  but  the  meaning  outmastered 
the  meter. 


Never  a  daisy  that  grows,  but  a  mystery  guideth  the  grow- 
ing; 

Never  a  river  that  flows,  but  a  majesty  sceptres  the  flowing; 

Never  a  Shakespeare  that  soared,  but  a  stronger  than  he  did 
enfold  him, 

Nor  ever  a  prophet  foretells,  but  a  mightier  seer  hath  fore- 
told him. 


Back  of  the  canvas  that  throbs  the  painter  is  hinted  and 

hidden ; 
Into   the  statue  that  breathes  the  soul  of  the  sculptor  is 

bidden ; 
Under  the  joy  that  is  felt  lie  the  infinite  issues  of  feeling ; 
Crowning  the  glory  revealed  is  the  glory  that  crowns  the 

revealing. 


Great  are  the  symbols  of  being,  but  that  which  is  symboled 

is  greater ; 
Vast  the  create  and  beheld,  but  vaster  the  inward  creator ; 
Back   of  the    sound    broods    the  silence,  back  of  the  gift 

stands  the  giving ; 
Back  of  the  hand  that  receives  thrill  the  sensitive  nerves  of 

receiving. 


Vedanta  Philosophy  177 

Space   is  as   nothing  to  spirit,  the  deed  is  outdone  by  the 

doing ; 
The  heart  of  the  wooer  is  warm,  but  warmer  the  heart  of 

the  wooing; 
And  up  from  the  pits  where  these  shiver,  and  up  from  the 

heights  where  those  shine, 
Twin  voices  and  shadows  swim  starvvard,  and  the  essence 

of  life  is  divine. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SCANDINAVIAN  BELIEFS  CONCERNING  THE 
SPIRITUAL  UNIVERSE 

Though  the  old  Norse  mythology  has  become  largely 
familiar  to  frequenters  of  modern  opera, — thanks  to  the 
mighty  genius  of  Richard  Wagner,  who  has  drawn  freely 
from  mythologic  sources  and  endowed  the  old  heroic  tales 
with  new  life  and  vigor, — it  was  not  till  Marie  Corelligave 
us  her  fascinating  Norwegian  story  ''Thelma"  that  the 
people  of  England  and  America  came  to  realize  that  the 
race  of  Vikings  may  not  be  yet  extinct  in  rugged  pictur- 
esque Norway,  where  the  majestic  fjords  and  the  general 
sublimity  of  natural  scenery  form  an  appropriate  back- 
ground for  those  splendid,  but  tragic,  beliefs  and  cere- 
monies to  which  Olaf  and  his  clan  still  cling  with  undy- 
ing tenacity. 

We  cannot  study  the  religion  and  philosophy  of  India 
without  becoming  soon  convinced  that  the  warm,  and  often 
depressing,  climate  of  the  peninsula  and  its  adjacent 
islands  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  introspective  tenden- 
cies of  the  inhabitants.  The  temperature  is  usually  high, 
the  heat  often  intense,  and  in  such  conditions  external  ex- 
istence often  seems  a  bore  rather  than  a  blessing.  Amid 
such  surroundings  has  grown  up  a  profound  theosophy  and 
also  a  sense  of  indifference  to  all  external  things,  which, 
when  carried  to  its  extreme,  has  begotten  distaste  for  all 
physical  exertion. 

In  Greece,  one  of  the  loveliest  countries  of  the  earth 
178 


Scandinavian  Beliefs  179 

and  blessed  -vvjth  a  charming  climate,  grew  up  an  aesthetic 
cult,  heroic  on  the  one  hand  (as  in  Sparta),  effeminate  on 
the  other.  Lx)ve  of  life  reached  its  maximum  point  in  the 
Greece  of  classic  days,  and  this  led  to  a  distaste  for  the 
idea  of  any  cessation  of  physical  existence. 

Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  the  ancient  homes  of 
Norse  mythology,  differ  very  widely  in  all  respects  from  the 
placid  Orient  and  from  beauteous  Greece  and  the  lovely 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean ;  and,  as  Professor  Tyndall 
was  wont  to  declare,  climate  has  very  much  to  do  with 
religious  sentiment  and  all  phases  of  its  expression,  we  are 
not  surprised  to  find  that  Scandinavia  has  proved  the  seat 
of  a  war-like  faith,  which,  though  hard  and  tempestuous, 
like  the  physical  aspects  of  the  country,  in  many  of  its 
details  is  by  no  means  destitute  of  sterling  heroic  qualities 
which  may  profitably  be  incorporated  as  a  much-needed 
backbone  for  many  modern  creeds. 

Though  at  root  all  religions  and  philosophies  are  one, — 
for  all  start  from  the  same  point,  viz.,  human  endeavor  to 
decipher  the  hieroglyphics  and  solve  the  riddle  of  the 
universe, — the  multifarious  endeavors  of  humanity  to  ac- 
complish this  herculean,  and  always  unfinished,  task  have 
given  birth  to  the  innumerable  speculations  which  divide 
the  world  into  sects  and  parties,  which  can  never  be 
harmonized  except  on  the  basis  of  a  truly  synthetic 
philosophy. 

Taking,  as  we  do,  a  sympathetic  rather  than  a  harshly 
critical  view  of  the  world's  many  creeds  and  doctrines,  we 
see  good  in  all,  but  the  whole  of  truth  in  none ;  therefore 
do  we  consider  it  irrational  and  impious  to  seek  to  con- 
vince the  whole  earth  that  one  form  of  religious  doctrine 
and  worship   is   entirely  true,   while   all   other  cults  are 


i8o  Universal  Spiritualism 

dangerous  and  false.  When  Christianity  began  to  make 
headway  in  northern  Europe  it  freely  incorporated  Norse 
traditions,  which  still  prevail  to  some  appreciable  extent, 
even  as  in  southern  Europe  this  same  eclectic  Christianity 
took  to  itself  the  temples  of  paganism  and  gave  the  names 
of  saints  to  the  older  gods  and  goddesses.  The  Christian 
church  has  proved  extremely  flexible  and  adaptable  when- 
ever it  has  been  ruled  by  an  accommodating  priesthood, 
though  whenever  some  few  men  of  stern  prophetic  temper 
have  held  for  a  while  the  reins  of  command,  no  temporiz- 
ing or  conciliatory  policy  has  been  tolerated.  The  genial 
side  of  Christianity  is  soft  as  butter  and  smooth  as  oil,  but 
its  relentless,  persecuting  aspect  is  sharp  as  steel  and 
remorseless  as  flame.  We  cannot  understand  so  complex 
a  system  as  the  Christian,  ranging  as  it  does  from  simple 
Theism  to  revolting  phases  of  idolatry,  without  tracing  its 
many  origins  to  the  manifold  earlier  systems  from  which 
it  freely  borrowed  and  out  of  which  its  hybrid  aspects 
grew. 

But,  protest  as  we  may  against  inconsistencies,  we  can- 
not shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  human  nature  itself,  as 
well  as  the  elements  all  around  us,  are  extremely  incon- 
sistent in  behavior,  giving  rise  to  a  belief  in  many  con- 
flicting deities,  even  though  all  may  originally  proceed  from 
one  ineffably  good  source  and  eventually  make  manifest 
the  goodness  of  their  origin.  Those  are  not  wanting  who 
claim  that  Norse  mythology  is  of  Atlantean  origin,  and 
that  it  closely  resembles  the  mythologies  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  which  were  derived  from  the  same  source.  Those 
of  our  readers  who  wish  to  pursue  this  interesting  question 
are  advised  to  peruse  ''Atlantis"  by  Ignatius  Donnelly, 
and  also  a  work  on  the  same  subject  of  profound  arch- 


Scandinavian  Beliefs  i8l 

geological  interest  by  Scott  Eliott  (Theosophical  Publishing 
Society).  It  is  not  our  immediate  purpose  to  peer  into 
such  remote  and  necessarily  dim  origins,  but  simply  to 
briefly  map  out  a  few  of  the  leading  features  of  the  ancient 
Scandinavian  religion  which  has  left  many  a  trace  in  those 
popular  parts  of  northern  Europe  which  afford  delightful 
summer  camping-grounds  and  opportunity  to  gaze  upon 
the  wondrous  glory  of  the  midnight  sun.  Dr.  Alger  says 
that  ^'  many  considerations  combine  to  make  it  seem  likely 
that  at  an  early  period  a  migration  took  place  from 
southern  Asia  to  northern  Europe,  which  constituted  the 
commencement  of  what  afterwards  grew  to  be  the  great 
Gothic  family.  The  correspondence  of  many  of  the 
leading  doctrines  and  symbols  of  the  Scandinavian 
mythology  with  well-known  Persian  and  Buddhist  notions, 
— notions  of  a  purely  fanciful  and  arbitrary  character, — 
is  too  peculiar,  apparently,  to  admit  of  any  other  explana- 
tion. 

"  But,  the  germs  of  thought  and  imagination  transplanted 
thus  from  the  warm  and  gorgeous  climes  of  the  East  to 
the  snowy  mountains  of  Norway  and  the  howling  ridges 
of  Iceland,  obtained  a  fresh  development,  with  numerous 
modifications  and  strange  additions,  from  the  new  life, 
climate,  scenery,  and  customs  to  which  they  were  then  ex- 
posed. The  temptation  to  predatory  habits  and  strife, 
the  necessity  for  an  intense  though  fitful  activity  arising 
from  their  geographical  situation,  the  forceful  spirit 
nourished  in  them  by  their  actual  life,  the  tremendous 
phenomena  of  the  Arctic  world  around  them, — all  these 
influences  break  out  to  our  view  in  the  poetry,  and  are 
reflected  by  their  results  in  the  religion  of  the  Northmen." 
Following  this  telling  quotation,  may  we  not  add  also  that 


l82  Universal  Spiritualism 

as  the  spirit-world  with  which  we  are  all  in  closest  touch 
is  the  temporary  home  of  those  of  our  own  race  and  kin 
who  have  recently  laid  off  their  mortal  robes,  we  do 
actually  receive  impressions  from  this  surrounding 
psychic  zone  which  builds  up  still  further  a  system  of  be- 
lief and  practice  congenial  to  the  immediate  condition  of 
ourselves  and  our  unseen  coadjutors?  That  one  con- 
sideration, estimated  at  its  due  worth,  would  almost  suffice 
to  answer  the  innumerable  queries  constantly  propounded 
concerning  the  diversity  of  views  expressed  by  communicat- 
ing inteUigences,  who,  in  every  land  and  to  every  race, 
have  some  special  message  to  deliver  which  does  not  al- 
together tally  with  what  is  elsewhere  received  from  the 
denizens  of  the  world  of  spirits.  Again  and  yet  again  are 
we  compelled  to  insist  that  communications  may  be 
thoroughly  genuine  and  yet  at  variance  with  each  other, 
because  the  act  of  dropping  a  material  body  neither  trans- 
forms character  nor  introduces  the  freed  spirit  to  any  greater 
possession  of  knowledge  than  is  warranted  by  previous 
growth  and  aspiration. 

A  war-like  people  enter  into  close  communion  with  de- 
parted warriors  with  whom  they  are  in  intimate  affinity, 
and  just  as  the  Japanese  now  declare  that  warrior  spirits 
assist  them  on  the  battle-field,  and  that  these  are  often 
their  former  comrades,  so  did  the  hardy  Norsemen  in  days 
of  old  declare  the  same.  Valhalla,  the  hall  of  Odin, 
chief  of  Norse  divinities,  is  pictured  in  the  Eddas  as  a 
place  of  judgment  as  well  as  of  glory.  Some  of  the  de- 
scriptions are  martial  and  terrific  in  the  extreme;  spears 
and  all  instruments  of  war  figure  plenteously  in  Odin's 
magnificent,  though  barbarous,  abode.  Valiant  souls, 
who   while   on   earth   were   the   heroes   in    distinguished 


Scandinavian  Beliefs  183 

battles,  are  received  with  great  honor  at  the  celestial 
court ;  these  are  the  elect  of  Odin,  who  causes  the 
Valkyrs,  white-clad  virgins  with  flowing  ringlets,  to  wait 
on  them  as  cup-bearers.  Every  morning  at  cock-crow 
these  heroes  go  forth  to  battle,  and  are  often  seriously 
wounded  in  their  desperate  encounters,  but  every  evening 
their  wounds  are  completely  healed  and  they  are  furnished 
with  a  luxurious  banquet.  Such,  no  doubt,  was  regarded 
by  the  ferocious  Norsemen  as  a  blissful  life  in  Paradise, 
and  as  they  loved  fighting  on  earth,  so  they  conceive  that 
they  would  fight  in  heaven. 

It  was  from  Sweden,  a  land  in  which  such  vivid  myth- 
ologic  ideas  had  taken  abiding  root,  that  Swedenborg 
came  forth  to  give  to  the  astonished  peoples  of  Europe  in 
the  torpid  eighteenth  century  his  graphic  delineations  of 
many  heavens  and  many  hells  all  constructed  upon  the 
plan  of  dominant  affection  at  their  base.  Valhalla  con- 
tains no  women,  only  the  most  valiant  among  heroic  men ; 
but  it  is  by  no  means  the  whole  of  heaven.  Vingolf,  the 
Hall  of  Friendship,  stands  beside  the  Hall  of  the  Slain, 
and  here  are  troops  of  noble  women,  for  there  are  goddesses 
as  well  as  gods  in  Norse  mythology.  Then  there  are  the 
still  higher  and  far  more  beautiful  heavens,  the  abode  of 
the  rarely-named  Omnipresent  One,  the  true  All-Father, 
who  will  finally  come  forth  when  this  manifested  universe 
shall  cease  to  exist,  and  build  a  new  and  yet  more  glori- 
ous one. 

Concerning  terms  of  admission  to  any  heaven  or  banish- 
ment to  any  hell,  we  are  told  that  the  path  to  glory  is  only 
through  cultivation  of  all  the  heroic  virtues,  while  the  road 
to  infernal  states  is  always  through  the  practice  of  deceit 
and  falsehood.     Not  unreasonably  did  those  hardy  people 


184  Universal  Spiritualism 

associate  strength  with  goodness  and  feebleness  with  vice, 
and  in  so  doing  they  taught  a  doctrine  in  complete  accord 
with  our  common  word  virtue,  which  is  but  a  translation 
of  the  Latin  virtus^  which  certainly  implies  both  strength 
and  courage.  Those  who  die  in  arms  are  called  the 
"Chosen  of  Odin";  all  who  pass  from  earth  after  lives 
of  **  despicable  ease "  or  who  die  of  sickness  have  no 
bright  future  immediately  awaiting  them ;  such  souls  find 
themselves  in  Hela,  a  gloomy  cavern  where  there  seems 
to  be  but  little  active  misery,  though  there  is  no  active  joy. 
Perjury,  adultery  and  murder  are  considered  hateful 
crimes,  and  for  these  offenses  penalties  of  a  severe  character 
are  meted  out  in  the  future  state.  Stern  morality,  though 
consistent  with  a  barbarous  code,  is  proclaimed  in  Norse 
mythology. 

As  in  the  Zoroastrian  faith,  so  in  the  Scandinavian  also 
do  we  find  one  supreme  note  triumphing  above  all  others — 
the  ultimate  destruction  of  evil  and  the  everlasting  per- 
petuity of  good.  There  is  to  be  a  universal  battle,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  "  Twilight  of  the  Gods,"  a  term  applied  to 
the  present  divided  creation  in  which  light  and  darkness 
are  constantly  at  strife,  all  discord  will  cease  and  harmony 
prevail  forever. 

With  the  quaint  and  peculiar  superstitions  of  the  Norse- 
men regarding  their  finger  and  toe  nails  and  other  minute 
particulars,  we  need  not  greatly  concern  ourselves ;  there 
is  doubtless  a  symbolic  meaning  to  be  attached  to  the 
statement  that  no  one  should  die  with  unpaired  nails, — 
this  probably  means  that  no  slightest  duty  should  be 
neglected,  for  the  entire  life  produces  its  result  even  in 
minutest  matters. 

The  beautiful  story  of  '*  Baldur  the  Good"    reminds 


Scandinavian  Beliefs  185 

us  of  many  other  tales  of  self-sacrificing  heroes  who  will- 
ingly die  that  others  may  enjoy  a  larger  and  more  glorious 
life.  In  Bohn's  Antiquarian  Library  we  find  a  masterly 
edition  of  Percy's  translation  of  Mallet's  ''Northern  An- 
tiquities," in  which  the  scholarly  editor,  Blackwell,  argues 
with  conclusive  force  in  favor  of  the  view  we  strenuously 
hold  that  the  Norsemen  looked  forward  to  the  ultimate 
glorification  of  the  entire  human  race,  though  the  virtuous 
in^'Gimle"  and  the  vicious  in  '' Nastrond  "  would  re- 
spectively experience  joys  and  sorrows  of  indefinite  dura- 
tion previous  to  the  glorious  age  of  unmarred  felicity  which 
awaits  the  whole  creation. 

No  writer  has  better  described  the  funeral  customs  of 
the  Vikings  than  has  Marie  Corelli,  who  shows  us  Thelma's 
father  sailing  out  to  sea  in  his  burning  ship,  departing 
from  his  robe  of  flesh  triumphantly,  as  his  ancestors  had 
gone  before  him,  while  the  vessel  burns  around  him,  and 
when  he  has  expired  the  ship  he  had  loved  so  well  sinks 
at  once  into  the  waves.  No  suicide,  no  thought  of  self- 
destruction  mars  the  heroic  splendor  of  this  awe-inspiring 
scene.  The  aged  warrior  has  grown  feeble  and  knows  that 
his  earthly  end  has  come.  Not  till  it  is  evident  that  his 
moments  are  rapidly  nearing  their  close  does  he  call  upon 
his  ever  faithful  attendants  to  bear  him  to  his  ship ;  then, 
when  the  life  within  his  frame  flickers  so  feebly  that  at  any 
instant  it  may  expire,  he  gives  the  order  that  the  ship  put 
out  to  sea  and  be  ignited,  and  the  brave  soul  has  left  its 
earthly  tenement  before  it  is  possible  that  the  blazing  ves- 
sel can  sink  into  the  ocean.  Cremation,  rather  than  burial, 
has  always  been  the  choice  of  heroic  peoples.  To  bury 
the  dead  into  the  ground  is  to  pollute  the  earth,  and  en- 
danger the  health  of  the  living,  and  it  seems  to  encourage 


l86  Universal  Spiritualism 

and  perpetuate  materialistic  and  gruesome  practices  which 
encourage  mental  morbidity  as  well  as  physical  disease. 
The  crematories  of  to-day  in  all  civilized  countries,  which 
are  rapidly  supplanting  burial  grounds  or  cemeteries,  are  not 
only  highly  sanitary  and  therefore  most  commendable,  they 
are  also  calculated  to  do  much  to  end  the  necromantic 
rites,  and  the  hideous  beliefs  connected  with  them,  which 
invariably  cluster  around  a  place  of  interment.  Not  every 
one  would  like  to  see  a  beloved  parent  go  out  to  sea  in  a 
ship  of  flame,  knowing  that  his  flesh  had  descended  into 
the  depths  of  the  ocean,  whether  buried  or  otherwise ;  but 
so  romantic  an  ending  of  the  earthly  career  was  only  in- 
tended for  the  naval  warriors  even  in  the  old  Norse  days. 
The  sea-kings  were  not  the  only  heroes,  and  amid  the 
snows  of  Norway  many  another  type  of  warrior  was  buried 
with  his  splendid  horse  and  all  the  accoutrements  of  battle. 
Thomas  Carlyle  summed  up  his  glowing  description  of  the 
old  Vikings  in  these  majestic  words:  ''Worthily  bury 
the  old  hero  at  once  in  the  sky  and  in  the  ocean."  No 
doubts  were  entertained  by  their  survivors  that  these  men 
of  valor  and  renown  entered  upon  a  glorious  life  beyond 
and  still  took  interest  in  the  affairs  of  earth,  a  faith  which 
has  persisted  through  all  ages  and  lives  to-day  unquencha- 
bly  in  the  inmost  heart  of  our  humanity. 


CHAPTER  XII 
ETRUSCAN  VIEWS  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

Among  ancient  peoples  who  have  long  since  ceased  to 
figure  among  the  active  nations  of  the  earth,  the  inhabitants 
of  old  Etruria  have  left  the  most  copious  monumental 
records  of  their  spiritual  faith  behind  them.  Written  an- 
nals we  cannot  consult,  for  these  have  not  been  discovered  ; 
but  Etruscan  sepulchres  remain,  and  from  these  we  can 
gather  an  immense  amount  of  curious  and  satisfactory  in- 
formation. Monuments  are  often  far  older  than  docu- 
ments, and  frequently  much  more  reliable,  as  they  are  not 
so  subject  to  transcription  and  interpolation,  a  fate  which 
has  befallen  a  large  portion  of  the  comparatively  ancient 
manuscripts  now  placed  at  our  disposal. 

The  Etruscan  tombs  are  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock  of 
cliffs  and  hills :  they  therefore  bid  long  defiance  to  the 
ravages  of  time  and  storm ;  and  though  many  millennia 
old,  still  remain  in  so  good  a  state  of  preservation  that  they 
are  easily  deciphered  by  any  visitors  provided  with  the 
necessary  scholarly  equipment. 

Etruscan  burial  places  were  invariably  outside  of  city 
limits,  and  often  beyond  a  city's  walls  existed  another  city 
of  tombs.  Stone-hewn  sepulchres,  of  massive  and  imposing 
design,  are  not  infrequently  discovered ;  but  the  ordinary 
''house  of  the  departed"  was  built  on  the  plan  of  the 
abodes  of  the  living,  though  on  a  smaller  scale. 

All  sorts  of  clothing,  ornaments,  and  implements  were 
taken  to  these  reposing  places  of  vacated  earthly  forms, 

187 


l88  Universal  Spiritualism 

and  much  of  this  accessory  material  has  long  outhved  the 
pulverization  of  the  body  to  which  it  was  once  considered 
tributary.  Dr.  Alger,  from  whom  we  again  quote,  says 
that  ''an  important  element  in  the  religion  of  the  Etrus- 
cans was  the  doctrine  of  genii,  a  system  of  household 
deities  who  watched  over  the  fortunes  of  individuals  and 
families,  and  who  are  continually  shown  on  the  engravings 
in  the  sepulchres  as  guiding,  or  actively  interested  in,  all 
the  incidents  that  happen  to  those  under  their  care.  It 
was  supposed  that  every  person  had  two  genii  allotted  to 
him,  one  inviting  him  to  good  deeds,  the  other  to  bad, 
and  both  accompanying  him  after  death  to  the  judgment 
to  give  in  their  testimony  and  turn  the  scales  of  his  fate. 
This  belief,  sincerely  held,  would  obviously  wield  a  power- 
ful influence  over  their  feelings  in  the  conduct  of  life." 
Etruscan  views  of  divinities  were  similar  to  Egyptian 
and  to  Roman  concepts,  and  we  may  well  believe  that 
the  latter  were  largely  influenced  by  the  former.  A  mul- 
titude of  deities  were  honored  in  Etruria,  each  having 
some  particular  station  and  office,  a  special  form  of  rep- 
resentation, and  a  cycle  of  traditions.  The  Goddess  of 
Fate  was  pictured  with  wings  to  indicate  her  swiftness, 
and  with  hammer  and  nails  to  show  that  her  decrees 
were  unalterably  fixed.  The  supreme  divinity  Tinia  re- 
sembles the  Roman  Jupiter  Tonans  with  thunderbolt  in 
hand.  Twelve  ''consenting  gods"  compose  Tinia's 
council  and  bear  the  august  title  "  Senators  of  Heaven." 
These  awful  beings  reside  in  the  innermost  recesses  of 
Heaven,  and  it  is  not  lawful  to  pronounce  their  names. 
They  were  not  considered  eternal,  but  only  of  very  long 
duration,  and  beyond  them  were  the  yet  more  mysterious 
and  awe-inspiring  "  Shrouded  Gods,"  who  ruled  all  things. 


Etruscan  Views  of  the  Future  Life      189 

These  were  much  like  the  inscrutable  '<  Necessity"  which 
constituted  the  dim  background  of  ancient  Greek  theology. 

The  Etruscans  also  indulged  in  weird  conceptions  of  an 
Underworld,  ruling  over  which  they  imagined  two  mysteri- 
ous beings,  Mantus  and  Mania. 

Animal  sacrifices  were  frequent,  and  human  sacrifices 
occasional,  among  these  strange  ancient  people. 

We  can  readily  understand  many  references  to  the  aw- 
ful heathen  rites  of  many  gentile  nations  which  occur  in 
the  Psalms  and  elsewhere  in  the  Bible,  when  we  learn  from 
Macrolius  that  in  Etruria  boys  were  sacrificed  at  an 
annual  festival  in  honor  of  Mania,  queen  of  the  Under- 
world. ♦*  They  offered  their  sons  and  their  daughters 
unto  devils," — thus  did  Hebrew  prophets  and  minstrels 
summarily  dispose  of  the  abominable  orgies  against  which 
the  seers  in  Israel  waged  constant  and  unrelenting  warfare. 
In  later  days  and  milder  times  these  awful  propitiatory 
rites  were  supplanted  by  innocent  offerings  of  flowers  and 
vegetables  to  the  divinities ;  poppies  and  onions  were 
especially  popular  in  Etruria  for  the  later  sacrificial  rites. 

Belief  in  future  existence  unmistakably  exercised  a 
dominating  influence  over  the  Etruscan  mind,  and,  as  with 
all  other  peoples,  the  realms  beyond  death  were  pictured 
as  extremely  various,  ranging  from  a  paradise  of  bliss  to 
dark  and  frightful  regions  where  penalties  were  meted  out 
according  to  the  gravity  of  the  offenses  which  had  called 
them  forth.  Death-bed  scenes  are  depicted  most  vividly 
on  Etruscan  tombs  ;  patriarchs  are  represented  surrounded 
by  weeping  groups  who  can  scarcely  endure  the  pain  of 
parting  from  such  wise  counselors ;  friends  wave  mournful 
farewells  to  their  weeping  loved  ones ;  some  of  the  departing 
are  represented   as  quite  resigned  to  their  departure,  while 


igo  Universal  Spiritualism 

others  go  shrinkingly,  as  though  reluctant  to  leave  the 
earth  and  fearful  of  what  may  lie  beyond.  In  this  respect 
the  experiences  of  humanity  seem  to  have  been  about 
equally  varied  among  all  peoples  in  all  ages,  so  much  so 
that  Cardinal  Newman  in  ''The  Dream  of  Gerontius  " 
attributes  to  a  dying  man — though  a  devout  Catholic  calling 
upon  the  sacred  names  of  Jesus  and  Mary  in  his  extremity, 
— the  same  feeling  of  terror  at  the  approach  of  the  disrup- 
tion of  bodily  consistency,  as  has  been  experienced  by 
pagan  peoples  on  whom  the  light  of  the  gospel  according 
to   Christianity   had   never   shone. 

There  are  but  two  reasonable  interpretations  of  this 
world-wide  reluctance  to  leave  the  material  body.  First, 
a  natural  shrinking  from  a  change  which  is  never  fully 
understood.  Second,  an  unconquerable  conviction  that 
the  soul  will  get  its  just  deserts,  whatever  such  may  be,  in 
the  future  world.  And  as  a  large  percentage  of  lives  are 
by  no  means  flawless,  even  in  the  estimation  of  the  livers, 
it  cannot  be  wondered  at  that  in  the  solemn  moment  of 
transition,  while  bidding  farewell  to  the  accustomed 
earth,  and  often  to  near  and  dear  friends  from  whom  to 
part  must  always  be  a  painful  wrench,  the  soul  should 
tremble  somewhat  at  the  mysteriousness  of  the  undis- 
covered, even  though  the  realms  beyond  be  guided  by  the 
same  unerring  purpose  and  directed  through  the  changeless 
operations  of  the  same  great  law  which  guides  us  now 
and  will  continue  to  guide  our  path  forever. 

There  are  no  proofs  that  the  Etruscans  believed  in  the 
translation  of  human  souls  to  the  heavens  of  the  divinities, 
but  they  clearly  portrayed  much  that  was  beautiful  and  at- 
tractive as  awaiting  the  upright  in  the  world  to  come. 
Into  the  realms  of  bliss  many  gates  are  shown  surrounded 


Etruscan  Views  of  the  Future  Life     191 

by  emblems  denoting  welcome  ideas  of  deliverance  from 
trial  and  the  enjoyment  of  rest.  While  the  guilty  soul  is 
terror-slricken  at  the  approach  of  some  spectral  shape 
which  comes  to  escort  it  to  a  place  of  darkness  and  grief, 
the  heroic  soul  is  transported  through  the  "  Eighth  Gate  " 
into  the  charming  regions  of  the  blessed. 

In  this  brief  mention  of  the  Etruscan  faith  revealed 
through  art,  we  have  but  added  one  more  testimony  to  the 
numberless  array  of  testimonies  everywhere  accumulating, 
all  pointing  to  humanity's  world-wide  and  ineradicable 
confidence  in  a  life  beyond  physical  transition,  and  also  in 
many  diverse  conditions  obtaining  in  the  spirit-world. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SPIRITUAL  CONCEPTIONS  IN  CHINA  AND 

JAPAN 

Though  the  home  of  Buddhism  was  originally  in 
India,  it  is  in  Thibet,  China  and  Japan  that  we  must  now 
look  to  find  its  hundreds  of  millions  of  adherents.  This 
form  of  religion, — though  very  pure  at  its  fountain-head, 
and  truly  philanthropic  in  its  every  original  sentiment,  as 
it  emanated  from  that  great  spiritual  teacher  with  whose 
illustrious  career  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  has  made  the  entire 
English-speaking  world  familiar, — did  not  long  retain  its 
pristine  simplicity,  but  like  many  older  and  younger  faiths, 
it  soon  became  overlaid  with  superstitious  doctrines  and 
ceremonies  most  of  which  were  reversions  to  old  beliefs 
and  practices  rather  than  newly  invented  acquisitions. 

The  three  chief  varieties  of  Buddhism,  which  divide  it 
into  Northern,  Middle  and  Southern,  represent  considera- 
ble difference  of  thought  as  well  as  of  practice.  Northern 
Buddhism  seems  more  inclined  to  take  on  a  heroic  aspect 
than  does  Southern,  and  this  is  easily  explained  when  we 
refer  simply  to  geographical  situation,  for  climate  always 
affects,  to  some  degree,  the  feelings  and  the  conduct  of  a 
people. 

China,  the  mysterious  ''  Celestial  Empire,"  and  yet 
more  mysterious  Thibet, — the  enclosed  and  awful  country 
concerning  which  we  hear  much  that  is  startling  and  for- 
bidding,— are  two  lands  of  Asia  which  seem  peculiarly 
out  of  touch  with  Western  thoughts  and  habits,  but  Japan 

192 


Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan   193 

is  a  fricudly  neighbor  to  America  and  all  English-spcdking 
people  are  disposed  to  treat  the  Japanese  as  brothers,  while 
they  look  with  suspicion  upon  ''John  Chinaman," 
particularly  in  the  United  States,  though  he  is  very 
prominent  nearly  all  over  America,  particularly  as  a 
laundryman  and  in  California  as  also  a  cook  and  general 
domestic.  The  Chinaman  looks  so  unlike  a  European  or 
an  American  that  we  are  always  apt  to  emphasize  the  word 
"  foreigner,"  and  the  much  more  disagreeable  term 
"alien,"  whenever  we  see  his  costume,  watch  his  manners 
and  listen  to  his  conversation,  and  most  of  all  when  we 
gaze  upon  the  curious  characters  w^hich  denote  his  lan- 
guage. Our  Japanese  neighbors  present  no  such  very 
unusual  appearance,  because  they  readily  adopt  a  western 
dress  and  manner,  and  generally  adapt  themselves,  ap- 
parently without  much  difficulty,  to  the  new  state  of  affairs 
which  at  once  confronts  them  when  they  have  left  their 
Flowery  Kingdom  for  lands  remote  across  the  seas. 

That  the  Chinese  have  a  religion  of  their  own,  partly 
Buddhistic  and  partly  Confucian, — though  Confucianism  is 
an  ethical  and  philosophical  rather  than  a  distinctively  re- 
ligious system, — is  well  known  to  all  who  gain  their  confi- 
dence or  watch  their  doings.  The  gaudy  "Joss  Houses" 
which  constitute  one  of  the  popular  sights  of  "  Chinatown  " 
in  San  Francisco  and  wherever  there  is  a  Chinese  colony, 
represent  only  the  crudest  and  shallowest  expressions  of  the 
religion  of  China,  precisely  as  the  tawdry  pictures  and 
images  in  Mexican  churches  exhibit  only  the  most  superfi- 
cial and  uninviting  aspects  of  Roman  Catholicism.  To  the 
Oriental  intellect  subtle  metaphysical  abstractions  appeal, 
even  though  the  surface  of  Oriental  life  is  often  tawdry 
and  squalid  in  the  extreme.     Cultivated  Chinamen,  who 


194  Universal  Spiritualism 

may  often  be  met  in  Washington  and  other  American 
cities,  are  frequently  Confucians  and  very  often  they  are 
rational  philosophers  entirely  free  from  the  superstitious  be- 
liefs and  customs  of  the  ignorant  among  their  compatriots. 
Wong  Chin  Foo  and  several  other  highly  intellectual  and 
cultured  Chinamen  who  have  contributed  in  the  English 
tongue  to  many  periodicals  enjoying  world-wide  circula- 
tion and  fame,  have  presented  us  with  doctrines  in  the 
name  of  Confucius  which  have  proved  on  examination  to 
be  fully  as  noble  morally,  and  as  enlightened  spiritually,  as 
any  which  have  proceeded  from  any  other  sources.  But,  as 
Confucianism  does  not  speak  very  definitely  concerning 
any  future  life  or  communion  with  the  spirit-world,  it  is  not 
easy  to  gather  precisely  the  views  of  educated  Confucians 
on  these  important  themes;  we  may,  however,  safely  con- 
clude that  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  Mongolian 
race  not  only  venerate  ancestors,  but  distinctly  believe  in 
their  constant  presence  as  guiding,  protecting  and  inspiring 
influences.  In  the  war  between  Russia  and  Japan,  which 
ended  with  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1905,  news  came 
constantly  from  Japanese  officials  confirming  more  and 
more  the  fact  that  the  brave  Japanese  were  greatly  sus- 
tained in  their  heroic  warfare  by  their  unfaltering  spiritual 
faith,  and  by  faith  we  do  not  mean  mere  traditional  belief, 
but  confident  certainty  that  spirit-friends  were  sustaining 
them  in  hours  of  conflict,  and  giving  unmistakable  signs  of 
approval  when  heroic  work  was  done.  AVarfare  is  not  the 
highest  human  occupation, — and  we  may  all  sincerely  trust 
and  devoutly  work  as  well  as  pray,  that  a  happy  time  may 
speedily  come  when  war  will  be  unknown, — still  we  cannot 
dispute  the  fact  that  spirit-helpers  are  often  present  on  bat- 
tle-fields where  they  once  fought  and,  so  long  as  they  have 


Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan   195 

not  outgrown  their  belief  in  the  justifiability  and  even 
necessity  for  strife  to  settle  disputes  and  prevent  incursions 
of  tyranny  and  the  loss  of  national  integrity,  they  will  un- 
doubtedly continue  to  afford  efficient  aid  to  those  who  are 
nerved  to  more  successful  combat  when  buoyed  up  by  the 
sublime  assurance  that  they  are  not  fighting  alone,  but  in 
the  presence  of  their  heroic  ancestors  and  with  their  full 
approval.  Some  touching  incidents  have  been  related  to  us 
by  friends  who  have  lived  in  Japan  and  entered  sympathet- 
ically into  the  life  and  feelings  of  its  people.  At  eventide 
the  ancestral  spirits  and  those  who  have  recently  departed 
from  the  physical  frame  are  said  to  gather  in  some  ap- 
pointed place  and  receive  offerings  from  those  who  admire 
and  venerate  them.  No  festival  domestic  or  national  is 
kept  without  this  ceremony. 

Many  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  practices  intended  to 
honor  the  departed  are  crude  externally,  but  they  are  often 
beautiful  when  stripped  of  unnecessary  accretions  and 
readily  commend  themselves  to  our  sympathy  and  esteem. 
Even  the  offering  of  food  and  libations  to  the  departed, 
which  is  a  very  ancient  and  almost  universal  custom,  is  not 
reprehensible  in  the  least  when  we  consider  that  Oriental 
pliilosophers  have  always  taught  that  all  external  substances^ 
are  but  veils  which  hide  an  incorporeal  element.  As  the 
physical  body  is  sustained  by  the  grosser  part,  so  is  the 
psychical  body  fed  by  the  inner  substance.  This  teaching 
accounts  for  all  the  sacrificial  offerings  made  to  divinities 
through  all  ages  and  in  all  countries.  It  is  surely  not  nec- 
essary to  slay  animals,  much  less  to  slaughter  human 
beings,  to  appease  hungry  divinities  :  such  barbaric  orgies 
have  no  place  in  any  refined  system  of  thought  or  practice ; 
but  simple  offerings  of  fruits  and  flowers  to  the  national 


196  Universal  Spiritualism 

heroes,  and  to  friends  in  general,  is  a  gentle  poetic  custom 
which  serves  to  keep  always  before  the  mental  vision  of 
those  who  make  the  offerings  the  thought  of  the  intimate 
nearness  of  the  spiritual  to  the  material  world. 

Japan,  especially  since  the  marriage  of  Sir  Edwin  Arnold 
to  a  Japanese  lady  and  her  reception  as  a  welcome  guest  in 
the  highest  British  society,  has  seemed  quite  near  to  the 
cultured  elements  in  the  English-speaking  world,  and 
though  many  Japanese  now  profess  a  modified  form  of 
Christianity  and  express  great  readiness  to  assimilate  them- 
selves with  western  life  and  thought  in  general,  the  native 
of  Japan  nearly  always  retains  a  large  amount  of  his  an- 
cestral faith  unless  he  becomes  a  confessed  agnostic,  as 
some  students  do,  in  which  case  he  is  apt  to  pride  himself 
upon  his  lack  of  knowledge  concerning  all  spiritual  ques- 
tions, a  species  of  extraordinary  intellectual  pride  which 
characterizes  also  the  pretentious  culture  of  the  west  during 
a  certain  early  period  in  scientific  research  among  too  easily 
self-satisfied  investigators. 

To  obtain  as  nearly  authentic  a  statement  as  possible  of 
the  actual  religious  condition  of  Japan  at  the  time  of  this 
writing  we  refer  our  readers  to  an  intensely  interesting  let- 
ter written  by  the  well-known  American  presidential  candi- 
date, William  Jennings  Bryan,  sent  by  him  from  that 
charming  country  and  published  in  the  Cleveland  Plain 
Dealer  J  February  18th,  1906. 

Little  that  could  be  added  to  what  is  already  generally 
known  would  throw  any  new  light  upon  the  faith  or  prac- 
tice of  the  inhabitants  of  eastern  Asia ;  they  are  now  freely 
mingling  among  us  and  as  we  become  better  acquainted 
with  our  interesting  brown  and  yellow  neighbors  we  shall 
assuredly  cease  to  feel  any  sentiment  of  estrangement  to- 


Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan   197 

wards  them.  The  splendid  and  enormous  ships  which  now 
cross  and  recross  the  Pacific  waters  with  amazing  speed 
and  regularity  have  already  brought  Japan  almost  to  the 
door  of  America.  From  San  Francisco,  Seattle  and  Van- 
couver we  can  go  in  comfort  in  a  very  few  weeks  into  the 
very  heart  of  eastern  Asia,  and  when  we  get  there  we  shall 
find  very  much  to  interest  us  and  more  than  a  little  to  ad- 
mire, though  also  much  which  we  may  not  be  able  to  approve. 

The  glory  of  true  Spiritualism  is  that  it  breaks  down 
barriers  and  unifies  humanity  wherever  its  ennobling 
teachings  are  accepted  and  made  the  guide  of  life.  We 
cannot,  and  we  do  not,  profess  to  believe  that  spiritual 
communion  is,  or  ever  has  been,  the  exclusive  property  of 
any  church  or  sect ;  it  is  the  common  heritage  of  the  entire 
human  race.  Though  the  Occident  rather  than  the 
Orient  is  the  head-centre  of  present-day  revelations,  this  is 
only  because  during  the  revolution  of  the  cycles  first  one 
country  and  then  another  becomes  prepared  to  be  the  chief 
enlightener  of  the  world.  In  days  of  old  Asia  was  the 
source  whence  spiritual  light  radiated  over  the  globe;  then 
there  came  a  time  when  Europe,  and  finally  America,  took 
precedence  of  all  other  continents  as  the  head-centre  of 
spiritual  enlightenment.  Now  we  see  unmistakable  signs 
of  the  rapidly  nearing  approach  of  a  truly  universal  illu- 
mination in  which  all  continents  will  participate.  Asia  will 
be  revivified,  Africa  will  be  no  longer  dark,  Europe  will  be 
united  and  pacified ;  America  will  be  redeemed  from 
Mammon-worship  and  set  truly  free ;  Australia  will  become 
a  great  new  seminary  for  the  bringing  forth  of  a  truly 
eclectic  spiritual  philosophy. 

Such  are  the  signs  of  these  stirring  and  eventful  times. 
Never   again  can  old   superstitions  enslave  humanity  as 


198  Universal  Spiritualism 

foinierly,  for  the  hour  has  already  struck  which  has 
awakened  humanity  from  its  lethargy  and  called  it,  in 
stentorian  tones,  to  shake  off  the  lethargy  in  which  it  has 
so  long  been  wrapped.  If  the  modern  spiritual  movement 
has  done  no  more  it  has  certainly  compelled  a  searching 
investigation  of  the  foundations  upon  which  faith  in  im- 
mortality must  rest.  At  this  late  date  to  endeavor  to 
prove  that  there  is  communion  with  the  spirit-world  seems 
in  many  centres  an  altogether  superfluous  task ;  but  though 
multitudes  are  fully  assured  of  life's  endless  continuity, 
there  are  very  many  yet  who  still  sit  in  the  shadow  of 
doubt  and  some  who  dwell  in  the  caverns  of  positive 
denial.  Let  those  who  know  proclaim  their  knowledge, 
and  let  those  who  as  yet  know  not  hold  themselves  ready 
to  be  informed. 

The  following  intensely  interesting  account  of  Japanese 
life  and  spiritual  realization  is  taken  from  an  article  from 
a  brilliant  contributor  to  the  Ba^iner  of  Light,  who 
signs  himself  Mime  Inness ;  his  contribution  was  published 
February  24,  1906. 

Karma  and  Shintoism  in  Japan 

When  Admiral  Togo,  after  his  successive  victories,  took 
occasion  to  thank,  in  the  most  formal  way,  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  for  their  assistance  in  the  war  in  which  they  had 
lain  down  their  earthly  lives,  to  most  Americans  it  seemed 
an  act  of  Eastern  barbarism,  strangely  injected  into 
modern  hfe. 

How  could  a  great  naval  captain  like  Togo  be  so 
superstitious,  so  ignorant? 

It  is,  however,  not  strange  that  one  reared,  as  is  every 


Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan   199 

Japanese,  in  the  Shinto  philosophy,  should  take  occasion, 
as  a  thank  offering,  to  recognize  one  of  the  most  prevalent 
of  Japanese  ideas. 

The  Japanese  is  reared  not  only  upon  the  doctrine  of 
Shinto,  which  is  peculiar  to  his  people,  but  the  Buddhistic 
doctrines  of  preexistence  and  Karma  enter  equally  into 
the  make-up  of  his  religious  life.  We  in  the  West  have 
but  an  indistinct  idea  of  preexistence.  Theosophists 
maintain  the  doctrine,  but  ordinary  Christians,  especially 
those  reared  in  Calvinism,  have  spent  all  their  religious 
lives  in  an  effort  to  save  their  own  individual  souls  from 
a  hereafter  which  is  represented  to  be  so  horrible  that 
escape  from  it  is  the  one  "  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
wished." 

But  Oriental  philosophy  takes  care  of  all  this  sort  of 
thing  in  an  entirely  different  way,  a  way  which  is  almost 
inexplicable  to  the  self-seeking  Occidental. 

*'  In  the  first  place,"  says  the  Jap,  ''  my  own  soul  is  not 
a  single  thing.  It  is  a  term  of  reproach  to  me  when  one 
tells  me  derisively,  '  I  can  see  that  you  have  but  one  soul.' 
My  soul  cannot  exist  for  an  eternity  hereafter  unless  it  has 
already  existed  for  an  eternity  before  this  life. 

**  Eternity  is  an  endless  thing.  Nothing  can  be  endless 
if  it  have  a  beginning.  The  Occidental  talks  of  a  life  in 
the  future  which  has  no  end.  Then  it  can  have  had  no 
beginning ;  for  an  endless  thing  with  one  end  is  endless. 
I  must,  therefore,  have  existed  from  all  eternity  if  I  am  to 
live  to  all  eternity. 

''Therefore,  I  know  that  my  soul,  in  its  preexistent 
states,  has  passed  through  many  earth-lives,  has  had  all 
the  experiences  which  those  preexisting  lives  imply.  It  is 
not,  cannot  be  a  single  thing,  one  soul.     It  is  a  composite 


200  Universal  Spiritualism 

of  all  the  experiences  of  all  past  ages  through  which  it  has 
lived.  In  me  to-day  exist  consciously  the  souls  of  all  my 
kindred  by  heredity,  and  no  small  part  of  those  other  lives 
with  which  I  have  lived  and  by  contact  have  partaken  of. 
Hence,  my  ancestors,  being  those  to  whom  I  owe,  not  my 
existence  alone,  but  all  those  attributes  which  make  my 
soul  what  it  is,  are  certainly  worthy  of  my  highest  regard 
and  worship. 

"  Not  only  this  "  (and  here  comes  in  the  Spiritualistic 
idea),  *'  but  these  ancestors,  as  is  natural,  take  in  me  and 
my  living,  the  deepest  interest.  They  surround  my  daily 
pathway,  seeking  in  every  way  they  can  to  enhance  for  me 
the  good  and  to  ward  off  the  bad.  What  is  more  natural 
for  the  parent  who  dies  than  to  maintain  his  interest  in  his 
child?  You  western  Christians  believe  in  a  heaven  to 
which  a  dying  father  goes  and  shuts  from  his  knowledge 
everything  in  which,  two  minutes  before  he  breathed  his 
last,  he  was  most  deeply  concerned  ;  or  if  you  believe  that 
he  still  has  knowledge  of  the  lives  of  his  children,  he  is 
yet  powerless  to  affect  those  lives  for  good  or  ill.  This  is 
still  worse  than  total  ignorance.  For  what  is  more 
devilish,  what  could  be  a  greater  hell,  than  to  be  com- 
pelled to  sit  supinely  by  and  see  the  tortures  of  a  child 
and  be  powerless  to  aid  ?  We  know  better  than  this. 
When  we  die  and  slough  off  the  flesh,  we  do  not  change. 
We  still  love,  and  love  implies  aid.  We  still  hover  near 
and  help  bear  the  burden  or  share  the  joy  of  our  children, 
making  it  greater  by  the  sharing. 

**  So,  while  we  worship  our  ancestors,  we  know  they  are 
worthy  of  worship.  Do  you  Occidentals  still  wish  an 
angry  God  to  punish  sin  ?  He  does  punish  it,  not  as  one 
angry,  but  as  one  who  is  just.     Sin  is  not  like  the  naughti- 


Spiritual  Conceptions  in  China  and  Japan  20l 

ness  of  a  child,  to  be  punished  by  a  slipper.  It  is  a 
breaking  of  God's  laws,  which  breaking  always  bears  its 
own  consequences.  If  I  violate  the  law  of  gravitation  and 
walk  off  the  roof  of  the  house,  I  fall,  not  as  a  punishment 
for  violating  the  law,  but  because  a  violation  of  the  law  en- 
tails its  own  consequences. 

''So  if  I  do  wrong,  I  suffer.  No  pardon,  no  repent- 
ance avails  to  wash  away  the  sin.  It  entails  its  own 
punishment,  leaves  its  own  scar.  Thereby  I  am  taught 
not  to  sin. 

"  But  the  consequence  of  my  violation  of  God's  law  is 
that  the  scar  remains.  I  may  not  work  out  my  own 
redemption,  until  death  has  seized  me.  The  consequences 
of  that  wrong  go  on  just  the  same,  and  when  next  my  un- 
dying soul  seeks  physical  embodiment,  the  stain  of  my 
sin  is  still  on  it,  the  law  is  still  operative  and  justice  still 
demands  of  me  the  working  out  of  my  own  redemption. 
The  '  sins  of  the  father  are  visited  upon  the  children '  is 
true,  not  as  a  punishment,  but  as  a  simple,  just  working- 
out  of  the  rule  of  the  law.  This  is  Karma.  Evil  in  my 
life  I  know  is  just,  not  for  what  I  have  done  in  this  em- 
bodiment, but  for  what  I  did  in  another  body.  Joy  is 
mine,  not  always  for  my  own  merits,  but  for  the  good  I 
did  when  here  before.  Is  not  this  justice?  Is  not  this 
right  ?  Does  not  this  explain  why  life  is  as  it  is  ?  Is  not 
this  a  good  and  sufficient  reason  for  my  ancestor  wor- 
ship?" 

This  is  why  the  Japanese  see  so  little  that  is  attractive  in 
Christianity.  This  is  why  they  are  Spiritualists.  This  is 
why  Shintoism  and  Buddhism  are  to  them  the  living  forces 
that  they  are. 

This  is  why  this  life,  seeming  such  a  trifling  part  of  the 


202  Universal  Spiritualism 

real   life,  is  with   so   little  hesitation  thrown   away  by  a 
Japanese  in  battling  for  a  good  cause. 

If  Western  civilization  could  take  a  leaf  from  the  book 
of  the  little  men  of  the  islands,  creeds  might  suffer,  but 
the  real  life  of  Christ  would  be  more  purely  lived  and  then 
indeed  would  '*  death  be  swallowed  up  in  victory,"  being 
no  longer  the  ''King  of  Terrors." 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  is  a  fair  sample  of  Japanese 
spiritual  conceptions. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MOHAMMEDAN  VIEWS  OF  THE  SOUL  AND 
ITS  DESTINY 

Sale's  widely-circulated  version  of  the  Koran  having 
famiharized  multitudes  with  the  text  of  the  faith  of  Islam, 
it  is  generally  presumed  that  the  fairly  educated  public  is 
everywhere  aware  of  the  leading  tenets  of  the  faith  pro- 
fessed by  the  several  hundred  millions  who  follow  the 
prophet  of  Mecca  and  worship  God  under  the  name  of 
Allah.  Such,  indeed,  in  barest  outline,  may  be  the  case  ; 
a  searching  scrutiny  of  Mohammedanism  will,  however, 
reveal  an  esoteric  as  well  as  an  exoteric  faith.  Sir  Edwin 
Arnold's  beautiful  saying : 

•«  All  is  love 
Viewed  from  Allah's  home  above  " 

Strikes  a  very  different  note  from  that  harshly  sounded  by 
those  who  see  only  the  literal  surface  of  the  Koran,  which 
closely  resembles  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  Scriptures  in 
much  of  its  external  form,  and  from  them  it  was  indis- 
putably, in  large  measure,  compiled. 

Mohammed's  career  was  a  most  remarkable  one,  and  no 
matter  from  what  viewpoint  we  may  attempt  to  study  it, 
we  can  only  remain  convinced  that  the  Arabian  camel - 
driver,  who  became  renowned  as  the  founder  of  a  system 
of  religion  which  to-day  numbers  its  adherents  by  hundreds 
of  millions,  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  capacity  or  common 

203 


204  Universal  Spiritualism 

enterprise.  Like  all  personal  founders  of  systems,  he  who 
founded  the  faith  of  Islam  was  one  who  could  and  did  ac- 
commodate himself,  with  extraordinary  readiness,  to  the 
demands  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived  and  the  people 
whom  he  sought  to  influence.  There  are  many  dis- 
crepancies in  the  Koran,  and  many  fanciful  tales  and 
floating  legends,  but  so  there  are  in  all  Bibles ;  therefore, 
in  this  respect  the  Koran  and  its  teachings  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  in  any  sense  unique. 

Mohammed  has  been  called  an  impostor,  an  epileptic, 
who  imagined  his  distorted  ravings  to  be  heaven-sent 
illumination,  a  wily  schemer  who  only  sought  his  own 
aggrandizement,  and  much  else  that  is  uninviting  and  dis- 
creditable. But,  though  this  wonderful  "  prophet  "  was 
by  no  means  an  immaculate  hero,  he  was  undoubtedly  a 
man  of  many  excellent  parts,  though  vice  as  well  as  virtue, 
and  weakness  as  well  as  strength,  figured  in  his  character 
and  influenced  his  career. 

Upholders  of  strictly  monogamic  marriage  relations  can- 
not endorse  polygamy,  even  in  the  restricted  sense  in 
which  Mohammed  taught  or,  at  least,  permitted  it;  but 
when  we  remember  that  in  his  day  polygamy  and  polyandry 
ran  riot  in  those  very  lands  in  which  he  sought  to  spread 
his  influence,  we  may  trace  the  hand  of  a  shrewd  states- 
man in  the  teaching  of  a  man  who  limited  the  wives  of  a 
''true  believer"  to  four,  and  was  perfectly  willing  that  the 
"faithful"  should  live  in  a  strictly  monogamous  relation 
if  they  so  preferred.  Had  it  been  the  aim  or  mission  of 
Mohammed  to  fashion  a  restricted  cult  adapted  only  to  a 
limited  section  of  humanity,  his  system  would  probably 
have  been  far  less  ingenious  and  complex  than  we  find  it 
to  be.     James  Freeman  Clarke,  in  "  Ten  Great  Religions  " 


Mohammedan  Views  of  the  Soul       205 

classes  Mohammedanism  among  missionary  and  eclectic 
systems,  in  which  category  he  also  places  Buddhism  and 
Christianity,  while  Brahmanism  he  places  among  the 
purely  ethnic  cults  which  seem  indigenous  to  a  certain  soil 
and  incapable  of  successful  migration  or  transplantation. 

As  Mohammed's  period  was  about  six  hundred  years 
after  the  inception  of  the  Christian  system,  he  had  much 
material  to  work  with  which  had  been  partly  Christianized 
but  had  not  accepted  the  authority  of  the  institutionalized 
Christian  church,  which,  by  that  time,  had  grown  numer- 
ous and  powerful,  and  in  many  districts  oppressive  also. 

There  is  a  strange  fascination  attaching  to  the  earlier 
years  of  Mohammed's  ministry,  for  it  was  not  till  after 
thirteen  years  of  peaceful  endeavor  to  propagate  his  sys- 
tem that  he  had  recourse  to  the  sword  or  even  permitted 
warfare  as  a  means  of  religious  propaganda.  It  was  only 
— so  all  reliable  historians  have  declared — after  the  failure 
of  peaceful  measures  that  Mohammed  allowed  his  band  of 
devoted,  though  decidedly  ambitious,  followers  to  resort 
to  intimidation  to  convert  **  unbelievers"  to  the  prophet's 
creed.  At  one  time  Spain  was  a  stronghold  for  Moham- 
medanism, and  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Mussulman 
was  often  a  better  civilizer  than  the  Christian,  and  cer- 
tainly not  more  bigoted  or  fanatical.  At  present  no 
European  nation,  except  Turkey,  is  under  Mohammed's 
sway,  but  large  portions  of  Asia  and  Africa  are  completely 
given  over  to  the  faith  of  Islam,  and  in  many  instances 
that  form  of  religion  seems  well  adapted  to  the  general 
need. 

There  are  two  great  Mohammedan  sects  or  parties ;  one 
called  Sunnees,  the  other  Sheeahs.  The  former  are  usually 
very  rigid  in  their  adhesion  to  the  letter  of  the  Koran  and 


2o6  Universal  Spiritualism 

the  observance  of  every  ceremonial  lujuuction  of  their 
faith;  the  latter  are  more  elastic  in  their  interpretations 
and  applications  and  are  regarded  as  somewhat  heretical 
by  their  more  strenuously  observing  brethren.  Turks, 
Arabs  and  Tartars  are  nearly  all  Sunnees ;  Persians  are 
usually  Sheeahs.  The  most  bigoted  among  both  parties 
lay  great  stress  upon  minute  ritual  practices  and  indulge  in 
uncharitable  comments  upon  all  who  differ  from  them  in 
even  the  smallest  particular;  but  all  highly  intelligent 
Mohammedans,  and  there  are  many  such,  while  holding 
fast  to  what  may  be  termed  the  fundamentals  of  their  faith, 
are  by  no  means  rigid  in  the  case  of  minor  details,  nor  do 
they  condemn  everybody  whose  practice  differs  from  their 
own. 

Mohammedan  tenets  as  expounded  in  Chicago  in  1893 
were  quite  liberal  in  many  respects,  indeed,  Alexander 
Russell  Webb,  who  had  become  a  convert  to  Moham- 
medanism and  was  authorized  to  proclaim  its  teachings  at 
the  Parliament  of  Religions,  said  very  little  that  would  not 
be  classed  as  liberal  teaching  in  modern  America.  It  is  a 
great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  devotees  of  any  system 
are  all  narrow-minded  or  bigoted,  or  that  any  religion 
traced  to  its  foundation  is  devoid  of  charitable  and  reason- 
able sentiments.  The  Sufis,  who  are  Mohammedan  The- 
osophists,  constitute  an  esoteric  party  and  put  the  same 
sort  of  symbolic  interpretation  upon  the  Koran  that  Philo 
of  Alexandria  placed  upon  the  Pentateuch.  Sufism  is 
Gnosticism,  and  from  the  Gnostic  standpoint  every  holy 
saying  has  an  interior  meaning  which  is  discoverable  by 
the  apphcation  of  a  system  similar  to  Swedenborg's  doc- 
trine of  Correspondence,  which  is  employed  as  an  all- 
sufficing  key  to  unlock  the  inner  mystery  contained  in 


Mohammedan  Views  of  the  Soul      207 

even  the  obscurest  and  the  most  outwardly  revolting  state- 
ments and  commands  attributed  to  Deity  or  to  some  of  the 
heavenly  messengers  who  figure  as  prominently  in  the 
Koran  as  anywhere  else  in  reputedly  inspired  literature. 
All  Mohammedans  believe  in  angels  of  various  ranks  and 
degrees,  ranging  from  infernal  to  celestial.  Eblis  cor- 
responds to  Satan,  and  the  story  of  his  fall  from  heaven 
agrees  well  with  popular  Christian  tradition. 

Predestination  is  also  a  cardinal  point  in  the  faith  of 
Islam,  and  often  it  is  so  taught  that  absolute  fatalism  is  the 
only  conclusion  one  can  draw  from  the  utterances  of  Mo- 
hammedan teachers ;  there  are,  however,  those  among 
them  who  greatly  modify  this  doctrine  until  it  comes  to 
bear  a  close  resemblance  to  the  Jewish  doctrine  as  set  forth 
in  the  Talmud,  which  declares  that  everything  is  regulated 
by  divine  providence  except  human  conduct ;  and,  unless 
this  exception  be  made,  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  any 
idea  of  vice  or  virtue,  punishment  or  reward,  in  this  world 
or  any  other,  can  possibly  be  entertained.  It  is  unthinka- 
ble that  any  soul  can  be  held  responsible  for  purely  auto- 
matic action,  and  if  Allah  has  decreed  every  event  so  that 
whatever  occurs  is  divinely  necessitated,  it  is  impossible  to 
believe  that  the  Supreme  Being,  or  even  any  tutelar  di- 
vinity, can  be  displeased  with  the  carrying  out  of  his  own 
will  and  the  fulfilment  of  his  own  purpose.  Calvinism  is 
a  Christian  phase  of  the  worst  features  of  Mohammedanism 
as  any  student  of  the  Koran  can  readily  perceive,  and  no- 
where has  a  more  monstrous  absurdity  been  taught  than 
that  God  punishes,  or  is  angry  with  human  beings  for 
acting  automatically  in  accordance  with  divine  decrees. 

There  is,  however,  a  bright  side  to  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination which  Theists  and    Universalists  have   often 


2o8  Universal  Spiritualism 

gladly  perceived,  and  that  is  the  idea  that  the  whole  uni- 
verse is  subject  to  the  sovereign  sway  of  a  perfectly  benefi- 
cent ruling  intelligence,  and  that  in  consequence  thereof 
the  lot  of  every  individual  is  divinely  appointed  and  ap- 
portioned ;  therefore,  though  at  present  it  appears  to  our 
dim  vision  that  some  are  God's  beloved  and  others  objects 
of  divine  disfavor,  when  we  see  more  clearly  we  shall  come 
to  know  that  those  conditions  we  call  hells  are  just  as 
necessary  to  cosmic  harmony  as  those  we  call  heavens, 
and  that  when  the  purpose  of  all  events  is  clearly -per- 
ceived every  one  will  be  satisfied  with  the  condition  to 
which  he  has  been  assigned. 

It  is  said  that  Mohammed,  in  a  vision,  beheld  a  mighty 
tablet  whereon  was  inscribed  every  event  which  Allah  had 
decreed  must  occur  before  the  Day  of  Judgment.  There  is 
no  possible  reconciliation  between  God's  absolute  sover- 
eignty and  complete  control  over  every  event  between  the 
dawn  of  creation  and  the  end  of  the  world, — a  doctrine 
taught  with  the  greatest  possible  insistence  by  Mohammed, 
— and  the  other  doctrine  which  is  strenuously  advocated  in 
the  Koran  that  God  rewards  obedience  and  punishes  dis- 
obedience to  his  will.  Without  some  degree  of  freedom  to 
act  as  one  pleases  there  can  be  no  disobedience :  there  can 
be  only  automatic  fulfilment  of  a  predetermined  purpose  ; 
it  stands  to  reason,  therefore,  that  limited  human  freedom 
must  have  been  one  of  Mohammed's  concepts,  otherwise 
he  taught  what  was  evidently  self-contradictory,  and  must 
have  been  too  intellectually  blind,  as  was  Calvin,  to  realize 
the  contradiction  in  his  own  most  positive  assertions.  The 
cruel  and  foolish  statements  of  Calvinism  and  Mohammed- 
anism are  all  of  a  piece,  for  they  all  alike  grow  out  of  the 
iXionstrous    attempt    to  teach  two  diametrically  opposed 


Mohammedan  Views  of  the  Soul      209 

doctrines  in  one  breath.  This  same  fatal  absurdity  mars 
the  theology  of  the  Athanasian  Creed,  which  has  long  been 
the  source  of  bitter  controversy  among  members  of  the 
Church  of  England,  clergy  and  laity  alike  being  hopelessly 
divided  in  their  views  concerning  it.  Augustine  fell  into 
the  same  error  as  did  Mohammed  and  Calvin,  and  the  great 
mistake  of  them  all  is  in  seeking  to  reconcile  what  is  essen- 
tially irreconcilable.  Predestination  can  be  accepted 
rationally  in  one  of  two  ways  :  we  may  believe  that  God  is 
perfectly  satisfied  with  the  condition  of  affairs  throughout 
the  universe  because  it  is  the  divine  will  that  things  should 
be  as  they  are ;  or  we  may  believe  that  foreordination  only 
concerns  the  immutable  relation  between  cause  and  effect, 
— therefore  that  God  has  not  predetermined  what  exact 
course  any  individual  shall  pursue,  but  has  only  so  reg- 
ulated the  course  of  events  that  our  reaping  in  this,  and 
in  every  other  state  of  existence,  must  be  in  exact  accord- 
ance with  the  nature  of  our  sowing,  because  it  is  the  in- 
evitable outcome  thereof.  Either  of  these  doctrines  can 
be  held  by  a  devout  and  rational  mind,  but  no  one  who 
yields  to  reason  or  employs  sane  logic  can  possibly  hold  a 
fatalistic  doctrine  to  the  effect  that  man  is  merely  a 
machine  for  executing  God's  designs,  and  though  all  parts 
of  the  machine  equally  fulfil  the  divine  purpose,  the 
creator  of  the  machine  is  pleased  with  one  part  and  re- 
wards it,  but  is  angry  with  another  part  and  condemns  it. 

Neither  can  any  reasoning  mind  believe  that  we  are 
saved  by  believing  certain  doctrines  and  condemned  if  we  do 
not  believe  them,  and  at  the  same  time  hold  that  those 
who  have  do7ie  good  shall  enter  heaven,  and  those  who 
have  do7ie  evil  shall  be  cast  into  a  hell  of  fire.  Doing 
good  and  doing  evil,  as  every  observer  of  human  conduct 


210  Universal  Spiritualism 

knows,  is  something  totally  apart  from  believing  or  disbe- 
lieving some  theological  doctrine,  even  though  it  be  con- 
fessed that  all  beliefs  must,  to  some  extent,  exert  an  in- 
fluence on  conduct ;  and  for  that  reason  no  belief  seriously 
entertained  is  altogether  unimportant. 

To  grasp  fully  Mohammed's  doctrine  of  the  spirit-world 
one  must  make  such  allowance  for  the  glowing  imagery  in 
which  he  clothed  his  speech  and  the  intensely  material 
models  on  which  he  founded  his  descriptions  of  the  bliss  of 
Paradise.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  when  denuded  of  all 
superfluous  accretions  Mohammed's  detailed  accounts  of 
the  life  to  come  are  founded  upon  a  close  acquaintance 
with  the  demands  of  undeveloped  human  nature,  not  yet 
emancipated  from  the  grip  of  sensationalism ;  and  these  ac- 
commodations are  supplemented  by  a  considerable  amount 
of  knowing  contact  with  the  "  borderland,"  beyond  which, 
in  spite  of  all  his  rapturous  claims  to  communion  with  the 
highest  heavens,  we  do  not  believe  Mohammed  ever  really 
penetrated.  Those  who  have  read  Swedenborg's  "  Heaven 
and  Hell  "  and  believe  in  his  seership  can  readily  credit 
Mohammed's  glowing  accounts;  those,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  fully  endorse  Emerson's  essay  on  Swedenborg  will  cer- 
tainly discredit  a  large  amount  of  Mohammed's  particular- 
ization.  For  our  own  part,  we  believe  the  Mohammedan 
system  to  be  a  strange  compound  of  truth  and  error,  en- 
forcing many  moral  lessons,  temperance  in  particular,  with 
great  earnestness,  but  not  presenting  as  a  whole  any  very 
edifying  views  of  the  spiritual  universe,  unless  we  accept  a 
purely  esoteric  interpretation  of  all  Koranic  metaphors. 

Concerning  the  final  judgment,  we  must  admit  that 
Mohammed's  account  of  it  is  not  destitute  of  ethical  value, 
for    he   evidently,   when  discoursing  on   that  stupendous 


Mohammedan  Views  of  the  Soul       211 

theme,  has  forgotten  his  fatalism  and  brought  to  the  front 
the  true  and  solemn  doctrine  of  each  soul's  individual  re- 
sponsibility. Allah  is  pictured  as  relentless  but  supremely 
just.  Every  soul  is  rewarded  or  punished  in  precise  ac- 
cord with  the  amount  of  good  or  evil  done  by  thought  and 
word  and  deed,  and  the  Scales  of  Justice  are  adjusted  to 
weigh  as  accurately  according  to  the  Koran  as  according  to 
the  Egyptian  Book  of  the  Dead. 

Mohammedans  who  are  strictly  orthodox,  profess  to  be- 
lieve that  on  the  day  of  judgment  the  entire  human  family 
will  be  assembled  before  the  judgment  seat.  Mohammed 
will  lead  the  procession,  and  will  appear  as  intercessor  on 
behalf  of  all  who  have  professed  the  faith  of  Islam.  Proph- 
ets of  other  religions  will  also  appear  and  intercede  on  be- 
half of  their  respective  followers.  Gabriel,  the  mighty 
archangel,  who  figures  with  equal  prominence  in  Christian 
mythology,  will  hold  a  balance  so  stupendous  that  when 
suspended  one  scale  will  cover  heaven  and  the  other  scale 
will  cover  hell.  The  Koran  declares  that  at  the  judgment 
seat  all  shall  be  judged  with  such  exact  impartiality  that  no 
deed,  good  or  evil,  'nhe  weight  of  an  ant,"  shall  be  over- 
looked. No  one  soul  shall  be  able  to  obtain  anything  on 
behalf  of  another.  There  is  no  vicarious  sacrifice  to 
plead,  no  substituted  or  imputed  righteousness  in  Moham- 
med's creed,  but  every  soul  is  weighed  and  judged  in 
exact  accordance  with  individual  righteousness  or  demerit. 
Mohammedanism  in  this  respect  teaches  a  doctrine  which 
certainly  has  its  roots  in  Judaism  rather  than  in  Christian- 
ity, and  from  Jewish  sources  it  was  without  question 
largely  derived. 

Predestination  is  utterly  absent  from  Mohammed's 
picture  of  the  judgment,  for  the  sentence  passed  on  every 


212  Universal  Spiritualism 

soul  is  utterly  without  favoritism,  though,  as  it  is  claimed 
that  *<true  believers  "  have  lived  less  wicked  lives,  for  the 
most  part,  than  unbelievers,  they  as  a  rule  receive  the 
milder  sentences.  There  is  a  teaching  to  the  effect  that 
no  Mohammedan  will  remain  in  hell  forever,  though 
idolaters  may  never  escape  from  a  place  of  suffering  if  by 
their  wicked  lives  they  have  earned  the  doom  of  entering 
it.  Idolatry  had  to  be  extirpated,  so  said  Mohammed,  and 
he  found  no  surer  way  for  creating  a  profound  horror  of  it 
than  by  declaring  that  it  was  the  one  sin  above  all  others 
which  would  receive  most  awful  condemnation  at  the  day 
of  judgment. 

So  great  is  the  discrepancy  among  Mohammedans 
as  to  the  duration  of  the  period  of  judgment  that  some 
have  contended  that  the  judgment  of  the  whole  human 
family  will  be  completed  in  * '  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, ' ' 
while  others  have  stretched  it  in  their  imagination  to 
fifty  thousand  years.  All  souls  must  eventually  cross  the 
bridge  Sirat,  which  is  described  as  "  thinner  than  a  hair 
and  sharper  than  a  razor,"  and  that  bridge  spans  in  one 
frail  arch  the  immeasurable  distance  over  hell  from 
earth  to  paradise.  Curious  interpretations  are  given  of 
Sirat,  ranging  from  the  purely  metaphysical  to  the  grossly 
literal,  evidencing,  in  the  case  of  Mohammedanism,  as 
with  all  other  cults,  the  influence  of  refinement  and  bar- 
barity of  thought  upon  the  same  symbolism. 

Once  again  we  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  Dr.  Alger 
for  a  vivid  word-picture  which  he  has  drawn  in  the  follow- 
ing sentences  taken  freely  from  the  Koran.  ''As  soon 
as  the  righteous  have  passed  Sirat  they  obtain  the  first 
taste  of  tlieir  approaching  felicity  by  a  refreshing  draught 
from    '  Mohammed's   Pond.'      This   is   a  square   lake,  a 


Mohammedan  Views  of  the  Soul      213 

month's  journey  in  circuit ;  its  water  is  whiter  than  milk 
or  silver  and  more  fragrant  than  to  be  comparable  to 
anything  known  by  mortals.  As  many  cups  are  set 
around  it  as  there  are  stars  in  the  firmament ;  and  whoever 
drinks  from  it  will  never  thirst  more.  Then  comes 
paradise  an  ecstatic  dream  of  pleasure — filled  with  spark- 
ling streams,  flowing  fountains,  shady  groves,  precious 
stones,  all  flowers  and  fruits,  blooming  youths,  circulating 
goblets,  black-eyed  houris,  incense,  brilliant  birds,  delight- 
ful music,  unbroken  peace.  A  Sheeah  tradition  makes  the 
prophet  promise  to  Ali  twelve  palaces  built  of  gold  and 
silver  bricks  laid  in  a  cement  of  musk  and  amber.  The 
pebbles  around  them  are  diamonds  and  rubies,  the  earth 
saffron,  its  hillocks  camphor.  Rivers  of  honey,  Avine, 
milk  and  water  flow  through  the  court  of  each  palace, 
their  banks  adorned  with  various  resplendent  trees,  inter- 
spersed with  bowers  consisting  each  of  one  hollow  trans- 
parent pearl.  In  each  of  these  bowers  is  an  emerald 
throne  with  a  houri  upon  it  arrayed  in  seventy  green 
robes  and  seventy  yellow  robes  of  so  fine  a  texture,  and 
she  herself  so  transparent,  that  the  narrow  of  her  ankle, 
notwithstanding  robes,  flesh  and  bone,  is  as  distinctly 
visible  as  a  flame  in  a  glass  vessel.  Each  houri  has 
seventy  locks  of  hair,  every  one  under  the  care  of  a 
maid,  who  perfumes  it  with  a  censer  which  God  has  made 
to  smoke  with  incense  without  the  presence  of  fire  ;  and 
no  mortal  has  ever  breathed  such  fragrance  as  is  there 
exhaled. 

*'  Such  a  doctrine  of  the  future  life  as  that  here  set 
forth,  it  is  plain,  was  strikingly  adapted  to  win  and  work 
fervidly  on  the  minds  of  the  imaginative,  voluptuous, 
indolent,  passionate   races  of  the  Orient.      It  possesses  a 


214  Universal  Spiritualism 

nucleus  of  just  and  natural  moral  conviction  and  senti- 
ment, around  which  is  grouped  a  composite  of  a  score 
of  superstitions  afloat  before  the  rise  of  Islam,  set  off 
with  the  arbitrary  drapery  of  a  poetic  fancy,  colored  by 
the  peculiar  idiosyncrasies  of  Mohammed  emphasized  to 
suit  his  special  ends." 

We  have  no  reliable  information  concerning  the  atti- 
tude of  Mohammedans  in  general  as  to  their  views  on  spirit- 
communion,  though  we  know  that  they  often  lay  stress 
upon  the  ministry  of  angels  and  do  not  hesitate  to  aver 
that  the  faithful  on  earth  are  attended  by  celestial  spirits. 
There  is  much  to  admire  and  much  that  is  repugnant 
in  Mahommedan  theories  of  the  spiritual  universe,  but 
sifting  out  its  best  elements  and  discarding  what  is  un- 
worthy of  credence  and  not  calculated  to  advance  any 
ethical  purpose,  we  may  well  maintain  that  the  prophet 
of  Mecca  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  those  intrepid 
religious  leaders  who  have  not  been  destitute  of  concern 
for  human  welfare,  even  though  swayed  by  much  personal 
ambition. 

When  men  arise  in  our  own  day  like  Joseph  Smith  who 
founded  Mormonism,  Cyrus  Teed,  the  founder  of  *'Ko- 
reshan  Science,"  John  Alexander  Dowie  with  his  scheme 
of  non- Jewish  Zionism,  and  other  powerful  and  dominat- 
ing intellects  who  sway  a  multitude  quite  easily,  we  can 
understand  something  of  the  nature  of  Mohammed's  in- 
fluence. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ANCIENT  JEWISH  AND  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  IDEAS 
OF  THE  SOUL  AND  OF  SPIRIT-COMMUNION 

Without  some  knowledge  of  Jewish  beliefs  and  practices, 
it  must  always  prove  extremely  difficult  for  the  average 
enquirer  into  primitive  Christian  doctrines  and  cere- 
monies to  understand  at  all  clearly  what  many  of  them 
signify  or  from  what  sources  they  have  been  derived. 
Far  from  being  opposed  to  spirit-communion  of  an  ele- 
vated type,  a  very  large  percentage  of  orthodox  Jews  have 
always  affirmed  it,  though  often  only  to  a  limited  extent, 
and  only  in  the  case  of  very  notable  individuals.  The 
much- disputed  Bible  story  of  the  appearance  of  Samuel  to 
Saul,  which  the  fine  American  actor  Wright  Lorimer  has 
deftly  interwoven  with  the  plot  of  his  famous  play  "The 
Shepherd  King,"  serves  as  a  good  illustration  of  very 
ancient  Jewish  tradition,  and  the  modern  playwright  who 
makes  the  woman  of  En-dor  declare  that  the  apparition  is 
through  no  art  of  hers,  has  interpreted  aright  the  prophetic 
teaching  concerning  communion  with  departed  friends  and 
teachers.  Jewish  seers  and  sages  always  protested  ve- 
hemently against  necromantic  arts  and  witchcraft.  They 
condemned  every  form  of  sorcery,  but  this  did  not  effect 
direct  communion  with  the  spirit-world  apart  from  the 
practice  of  rites  or  incantations  forbidden  in  the  Law. 
The  much-perverted  picture  of  the  soulless  witch  whom 
Saul  consults,  is  taken,  so  far  as  stage-setting  is  concerned, 
far  more  from  Shakespeare's  *'  Macbeth  "  and  from  mediae- 

215 


2i6  Universal  Spiritualism 

val  fancy  than  from  any  words  contained  in  the  Bible 
record  of  Saul  and  his  ultimate  downfall.  The  woman  at 
En-dor  told  no  falsehood  and  behaved  in  no  unseemly 
manner,  and  it  is  absurd  to  blacken  her  reputation,  as 
many  preachers  have  frequently  done,  in  order  to  force 
into  a  narrative  statements  it  does  not  contain  in  order  to 
read  them  forth  again  as  alleged  divine  warnings  against 
Spiritualism.  Such  pulling  cover  over  half-opened  eyes  is 
a  dishonest  trick,  and  has  brought  into  deserved  contempt 
the  unfair  attitude  taken  towards  Spiritualism  by  sensational 
declaimers,  notorious  rather  than  famous,  who  have  made 
capital  among  the  unthinking  and  the  too-easily  influenced 
among  their  hearers,  out  of  garbled  and  distorted  versions 
of  obscure  ancient  Biblical  incidents.  Samuel  could  not 
rescue  Saul  from  the  inevitable  results  of  his  own  misdoing  ; 
it  was  therefore  useless  for  the  rebellious  king  to  "  trouble  " 
the  departed  prophet  when  it  was  already  too  late  to  profit 
by  that  prophet's  warning.  But,  far  from  Samuel  con- 
demning Saul  to  everlasting  perdition  in  consequence  of 
his  earthly  crimes  and  follies,  he  contents  himself  with 
predicting  that  both  Saul  and  Jonathan  would  '*  be  with 
him  "  on  the  following  day.  No  other  reference  can  fairly 
be  gathered  from  the  story,  if  it  be  credited  at  all,  than 
that  Samuel  in  spirit-life  could  see  a  little  further  ahead 
than  could  those  still  on  earth,  and  he  knew  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  reveal,  that  David  was  already  appointed  Saul's 
successor,  and  it  would  be  vain  at  that  late  hour  to  make 
any  attempt  to  keep  the  crown  on  the  head  of  a  monarch 
literally,  when  it  had  already  fallen  psychically. 

Two  of  the  most  notable  instances  of  undying  belief  in 
spirit-communion  among  Jews  who  have  not  relinquished 
the  traditions  of  their  ancestors  is  the  behef  that  Elijah 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  217 

presides  at  circumcisions,  and  a  seat  is  kept  vacant  at  a 
festive  board  for  Abraham  on  the  first  night  of  Succoth, 
the  feast  of  Tabernacles  or  Booths.  It  is  declared  that, 
though  unseen  by  mortal  eye,  the  patriarch  is  spiritually 
present  in  the  booth,  or  wherever  the  Succoth  feast  is 
spread,  and  if  a  stranger  appears  on  that  occasion  he  is 
regarded  as  sent  by  Abraham  to  represent  him  at  the 
board,  a  stranger  on  such  an  occasion  is  therefore  treated 
with  extraordinary  hospitality  and  his  presence  is  regarded 
as  an  omen  of  good  to  the  family  of  whose  bounty  he 
partakes  j  Elijah  is  also  believed  to  spiritually  preside  at 
the  Seder  service  on  the  first  and  second  evening  of  the 
feast  of  Passover.  Should  modern  criticism  dispose  to  a 
large  degree  of  the  personal  Abraham  or  Elijah  of  pious 
tradition,  the  spiritual  sense  of  a  guiding  presence  need  be 
in  no  degree  disturbed,  and  it  is  indeed  far  easier  to  grasp 
the  thought  of  many  spiritual  beings  presiding  at  different 
festive  boards  in  different  parts  of  the  world  than  to  think 
of  but  one  highly  influential  spirit  presiding  at  the  same 
time  at  so  many  banquets.  But,  should  the  personality 
of  Abraham  and  of  Elijah  be  rigidly  adhered  to  in  the 
most  strictly  orthodox  sense,  we  are  then  only  called  upon 
to  believe  that  spiritual  radiations  from  a  master-mind  can 
be  sent  forth  far  and  wide,  and  such  is  no  doubt  the  case 
when  we  are  successful  in  our  oft-attempted  demonstra- 
tions of  mental  telegraphy  or  telepathy. 

Prayers  for  the  departed  enter  into  every  Jewish  liturgy 
and  form  part  of  every  regular  Jewish  service,  and  though 
the  time-honored  "Mourner's  Kaddish  "  does  little  more 
than  express  faith  in  God  and  offer  prayer  for  blessing  on 
all  Israel,  it  proves  convincingly  that  the  departed  are  not 
forgotten.     "  Only  the  body  perishes  "  is  a  familiar  phrase 


2i8  Universal  Spiritualism 

from  a  popular  introduction  to  the  Kaddish,  found  in  the 
Union  Prayer-book  employed  by  a  very  large  number  of 
congregations  in  America. 

Primitive  Christianity  owed  its  origin  very  largely  to  the 
intrepid  zeal  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  who,  as  Paul  the  Apostle, 
is  more  widely  quoted  by  doctrinal  preachers  than  are  even 
the  Words  of  Jesus  as  recorded  by  the  four  evangelists, 
and  it  is  from  Paul's  epistles  that  nearly  every  dogma  of 
the  Christian  belief  has  been  gradually  upbuilt.  The  two 
Letters  to  the  Corinthians  set  forth  in  general  outline  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  those  early  Christian  congrega- 
tions which, — during  the  formative  period  of  Christianity 
being  composed  as  they  were  partly  of  Jews  and  partly  of 
Gentiles, — were  often  disunited  internally  and  needed  a 
strong  disciplinary  bond  to  organize  and  federate  them  and 
prevent  their  being  destroyed  by  schisms.  Paul  was  un- 
questionably a  strong  leader,  a  man  of  indomitable  per- 
severance and  of  decidedly  a  fiery  temper,  capable  of 
sustaining  enormous  burdens,  even  though  handicapped 
(probably),  by  a  physical  constitution  far  from  robust. 
His  was  one  of  those  phenomenal  careers  which  serve  to 
demonstrate  to  a  highly  exceptional  degree,  the  power  of 
spirit  over  matter ;  for,  though  seemingly  weak  in  frame 
and  afflicted  with  defective  sight  (so  nearly  all  traditions 
tell  us)  despite  his  "  thorn  in  the  flesh  "  which  he  described 
as  "B.  messenger  of  the  adversary  which  buffeted  him," 

She  performed  heroic  work  of  many  kinds  and  in  most  try- 
ing circumstances  through  that  indomitable  spiritual 
energy  which  he  styled  ''the  power  of  an  endless  life." 
No  one  can  read  the  Paulinian  epistles  with  any  sort  of 
penetration  without  seeing  at  a  glance  that  their  author 
was  an  uncompromising  Spiritualist  and  a  thoroughgoing 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  219 

Univeioalist.  "As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive,"  is  a  text  containing  quite  enough 
in  itself  to  prove  distinctly  where  the  writer  stood  who 
penned  such  bold  and  definitely  affirmative  statements. 
To  the  mind  of  Paul  the  whole  creation  was  safe  in  the 
keeping  of  the  Almighty,  and  he  certainly  knew  nothing 
of  the  nightmares  of  a  false  theology  which,  in  later 
centuries,  wrested  the  teaching  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans to  the  upbuilding  of  a  doctrine  of  election  and 
reprobation  which  no  Jew  would  ever  have  invented, 
and  Paul  never  forswore  Judaism  :  he  merely  added  to  it 
a  Christian  supplement.  Beginning  as  an  extremely 
orthodox  Pharisee,  an  ultra-ritualist,  this  wonderful  man 
went  on  to  a  point  where  he  left  all  matters  of  ceremonial 
to  the  conscience  and  judgment  of  individuals.  ''Let 
every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind  "  was  Paul's 
doctrine ;  but  let  him  never  seek  to  thrust  his  personal 
convictions  upon  his  neighbors. 

The  story  of  Saul's  conversion,  as  recorded  in  the 
"Acts  "  is  a  thrilling  spiritualistic  narrative.  Journeying 
between  Jerusalem  and  Damascus,  he  undergoes  a 
spiritual  experience  which  changes  the  entire  current  of 
his  thought  and  life.  Some  radiant  spiritual  presence  ap- 
pears to  him  and  asks  him  why  he  persecutes  the  innocent 
at  the  instigation  of  the  priests  and  magistrates.  Like 
many  highly  emotional  sensitives,  he  is  completely  over- 
whelmed with  this  amazing  and  altogether  unexpected 
manifestation,  and  for  three  days  is  without  sight  and  in  a 
very  precarious  condition.  On  his  recovery  he  is  a 
changed  man,  and  becomes  the  warm  friend  and  ardent 
supporter  of  those  whom  he  aforetime  had  relentlessly 
persecuted. 


220  Universal  Spiritualism 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  Paul  was  the  chief 
exponent  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  he  never 
claimed  to  have  seen  any  risen  flesh,  but  only  to  have 
held  communion  with  the  Master  in  a  purely  spiritual 
manner.  Those  highly  intelligent  English  clergymen  who 
are  now  outspoken  in  their  advocacy  of  a  purely  spiritual 
view  of  the  resurrection  are  not  ''heretics";  they  are 
simply  reiterating  what  the  New  Testament  declares,  for 
neither  the  gospels  nor  the  epistles  contain  a  fragment  of 
evidence  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  primitive  Christian 
church  held  any  carnal  doctrine  of  resuscitation,  such  as 
was  forced  upon  it  at  a  later  date  by  those  beUigerent  creed- 
makers  who  out-voted  the  more  spiritually-minded  in 
certain  famous  ecclesiastical  councils  and  foisted  upon  the 
church  a  repulsive  and  irrational  dogma  entirely  at  variance 
with  the  earliest  Christiap  faith. 

We  submit  the  following  propositions  to  the  discomfiture 
of  all  who  insist  upon  a  carnal  instead  of  a  spiritual  view 
of  the  resurrection.  ist,  the  gospels  tell  us  that  the 
reappearance  of  Jesus  after  his  crucifixion  occurred 
within  about  forty  hours  after  his  physical  decease,  and 
that  the  very  watchers  at  the  cross  who  remained  to  the 
end,  on  Friday  afternoon,  did  not  recognize  him  in  any 
physical  manner  when  he  showed  himself  to  them,  near 
the  sepulchre  in  which  his  remains  had  been  placed,  at 
daybreak  the  following  Sunday  morning,  and,  moreover, 
when  two  disciples  walked  with  him  to  Emmaus  on  the 
same  evening,  a  distance  of  several  miles,  they  did  not 
recognize  him  by  any  physical  test,  but  only  as  did  the 
women  in  the  morning,  by  purely  subjective  or  internal 
evidences ;  or  when  he  specially  made  himself  known  to 
them  by  some  essentially  characteristic  word  or  act. 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  221 

2(1/  The  solidification  of  the  apparition  to  Thomas  the 
skeptic  was  clearly  an  instance  of  what,  in  these  days,  is 
termed  materialization,  and  the  language  of  the  gospel 
which  records  it  is  such  as  to  prove  abundantly  to  every 
unprejudiced  reader  that  there  was  a  distinct  difference 
between  the  grosser  nature  of  that  demonstration  and  the 
more  ethereal  character  of  the  appearances  vouchsafed  to 
the  other  disciples  whose  spiritual  perceptions  were  more 
open  than  were  those  of  Didymus. 

'  Spiritualists  among  the  clergy,  like  Archdeacon  Colley 
and  others  who  have  made  an  earnest  investigation  of 
psychic  phenomena  for  several  decades  of  years,  em- 
phatically testify  to  the  reality  of  spirit-materialization  as 
well  as  all  other  phases  of  spirit-manifestation  described  in 
the  New  Testament;  and  though  such  men  are  "thorns 
in  the  side"  of  those  literalistic  theologians  who  can  see 
nothing  in  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  resurrection  deeper  or 
niore  spiritual  than  physical  revivification,  their  influence 
is  continually  spreading  and  that  influence  is  becoming  too 
great  to  be  effectually  offset  by  any  endeavors  on  the  part 
of  bishops  or  any  other  dignitaries  to  lead  the  people  back 
to  outworn  superstitions.  Quite  a  sensation  was  created 
in  London  during  the  summer  of  1904  by  the  action  of  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese,  who  refused  to  permit  a  clergyman 
to  preside  at  a  lecture  delivered  by  Mrs.  Besant  on  *' re- 
incarnation," which  is  the  oldest  form  of  the  doctrine 
of  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  and  the  only  form  in  which  it 
can  reasonably  be  accepted  by  thoughtful  minds.  We 
can  possibly  believe  that  in  order  to  work  out  a  cycle  of 
experiences  we  may  need  to  take  on  successive  bodies 
until  at  length  a  perfect  structure  is  upreared.  This  was 
one  of  the  doctrines  preached  by  some  primitive  Chris- 


222  Universal  Spiritualism 

tians,  though  there  appears  never  to  have  been  a  time 
when  the  entire  Christian  church  was  unanimous  in  this 
regard. 

This  doctrine,  strenuously  advocated  by  modern  Theos- 
ophists,  is  at  least  thinkable  and  to  many  minds  is  highly 
credible  ;  but  the  attempted  enforcement  of  an  unthinkable 
dogma  of  physical  resuscitation  can  only  meet  with  total 
rejection  at  the  hands  of  thinking  clergymen  as  well  as 
laymen.  Nothing  can  be  more  disastrous  to  the  cause  of 
true  religion  than  any  endeavor  to  bolster  up  incredible 
assertions  in  religion's  name,  and  this  the  wiser  among 
church  people  are  now  beginning  to  see  quite  clearly. 
Even  if  the  physical  resurrection  of  Jesus  was  completely 
proved,  it  would  throw  no  light  whatever  on  the  question 
of  the  raising  of  ordinary  human  bodies  at  the  'Mast  great 
day,"  and  that  for  two  very  significant  reasons:  ist, — 
that  Jesus  is  reported  to  have  been  in  the  tomb  only  forty 
hours  and  his  body  did  not  see  corruption — this  is  insisted 
upon  by  orthodox  Christian  theologians;  2d — that  it  is 
expressly  taught  by  the  same  expositors  that  he  was  not 
born  in  the  ordinary  way ;  therefore  so  exceptional  a 
body  raised  under  such  exceptional  circumstances  could 
offer  no  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  ordinary  bodies  which 
have  already  seen  corruption. 

Physiologists  of  the  old  school  are  wont  to  claim  that 
the  physique  changes  completely  every  seven  years,  and 
the  celebrated  French  astronomer  Camille  Flamarion  said 
long  ago  in  his  well  known  treatise  "  Dieu  dans  la  Nature  " 
that  a  physical  organism  can  be  completely  reconstructed 
by  natural  physiological  processes  in  less  than  one  year, 
some  parts  of  the  structure  changing  within  thirty  days 
and  other  portions  at  different  intervals,  never  extending  to 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  223 

much  over  eleven  months.  If  ^fcirie  Corelli's  statements 
in  "  A  Romance  of  Two  Worlds  "  are  to  be  credited,  there 
is  an  electric  germ  at  the  centre  of  every  organism  around 
which  the  body  is  formed  and  which  escapes  at  the  time 
of  physical  dissolution,  though  it  never  dies.  This 
**germ"  may  be  identical  with  the  ''permanent  atom" 
vouched  for  by  many  Theosophists  who  are  reincarnation- 
ists  ;  and  this  may  be  the  nucleus  of  the  new  body  which 
is  to  rise  at  the  close  of  a  cycle.  The  writer  heard  a  very 
similar  idea  broached  by  English  clergymen  many  years 
ago  who,  when  seeking  to  expound  the  creedal  phrase  ''I 
believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,"  said  that  there  is 
undoubtedly  some  germ  at  the  centre  of  the  organism 
which  never  dies  and  which  constitutes  the  foundation  of 
the  "resurrection  body."  With  such  doctrines  we  have 
no  dispute,  but  they  bear  no  resemblance  to  the  crude 
fancies  of  the  poet  Young,  who,  when  describing  the  resur- 
rection, uses  such  grotesque  expressions  that  much  of  his 
poetry  is  often  looked  upon  as  satire  by  thoughtful  readers. 
Take  the  glowing  imagery  of  Ezekiel  37  in  which  we  can 
easily  detect  the  prophetic  view  of  the  resurrection  enter- 
tained in  ancient  Israel.  A  vision  is  described,  in  which 
description  glowing  metaphor  is  introduced.  The  whole 
House  of  Israel  is  represented  under  the  figure  of  dry  bones 
in  a  valley,  to  which  the  prophet  effectually  appeals,  urg- 
ing them  in  the  name  of  the  Most  High  to  come  forth 
"out  of  their  graves," — a  purely  symbolical  expression, 
the  significance  of  which  is  transparent,  for  the  vision  is 
interpreted  in  the  very  chapter  in  which  it  is  described. 

It  would  be  quite  as  reasonable  to  interpret  Peter's 
vision  described  in  Acts  10  literally  as  to  insist  that 
Ezekiel  37  predicts  a  corporeal  resuscitation,  and  there  are 


224  Universal  Spiritualism 

people  blind  and  stupid  enough  to  see  nothing  grander 
in  Peter's  vision  at  Joppa  than  permission  to  eat  pork 
and  shellfish  and  other  table  <*  delicacies "  forbidden  by 
the  Mosaic  Law.  Peter's  vision,  however,  is  explained 
and  applied  in  the  chapter  which  narrates  it,  wherein  it 
is  shown  to  teach  a  valuable  and  still  greatly-needed  lesson 
in  universal  brotherhood. 

The  terms  death  and  dead,  as  well  as  raised  and  resur- 
rection, are  used  frequently  in  Paul's  epistles  in  a  mystical 
or  esoteric,  and  at  the  same  time  truly  practical,  sense.  For 
example,  people  are  described  as  ''dead  unto  sin"  and 
"raised  to  righteousness."  Paul  himself  '' dies  "  daily, 
and  exhortations  are  given  to  those  who  are  already 
"risen  with  Christ  "  to  walk  worthy  of  the  high  vocation 
to  which  they  have  been  called. 

Much  salutary  spiritual  and  ethical  teaching  can  be 
gathered  from  all  such  expressions,  and  we  are  fully  justi- 
fied in  making  use  of  them,  but  they  teach  a  far  different 
doctrine  than  the  irrational  and  carnal  views  which  have 
been  foisted  upon  the  world  by  a  secularized  church  in 
periods  of  degeneracy. 

As  to  communion  with  the  spirit-world  there  seems  no 
doubt  on  one  point,  viz.,  that  it  was  on  no  other  basis  than  that 
of  conscious  spirit-communion  that  the  Christian  Church 
was  originally  based.  Not  hearsay  evidence,  but  actual 
living  proof  of  intercourse  with  at  least  one  who  had  actu- 
ally passed  through  death  and  demonstrated  immortality. 
"  Because  I  live  ye  shall  live  also  "  ;  "I  am  he  that  liveth 
and  was  dead  and  behold  I  am  alive  forevermore." 
These  and  many  other  passages  of  similar  import  may  be 
cited  to  show  that  individual  immortality  conclusively 
demonstrated  was  the  cQrner-stone  of  early  Christianity. 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  225 

In  an  elaborate  work  by  Crowell,  *'  The  Identity  of  Primi- 
tive Christianity  with  Modern  Spiritualism,"  an  enormous 
array  of  proofs  are  marshaled  to  sustain  this  proposition ; 
and  similar  facts  are  arrayed  in  an  equally  conclusive 
manner  in  the  writings  of  S.  C.  Hall  and  many  other 
cultivated  and  brilliant  writers  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  show  that  only  a  spiritualistic  view 
of  the  New  Testament  explained  its  reasonableness. 

The  many  instances  of  spiritual  manifestations  recorded 
in  the  gospels  cannot  reasonably  be  explained  away  un- 
less we  are  prepared  to  deny  that  the  so-called  "  miracles," 
and  many  other  phenomena,  have  any  other  than  a  purely 
figurative  or  subjective  meaning ;  and  though  such  a  view 
may  prove  acceptable  to  rationalistic  Unitarians,  it  will  al- 
ways be  met  with  determined  opposition  by  all  who  seek  to 
uphold  traditional  Christianity. 

,  Mrs.  Besant,  in  her  "Esoteric  Christianity,"  in  which 
she  discusses  the  "Lesser  Mysteries,"  deals  largely,  but 
not  exclusively,  with  the  symbolic  aspects  of  gospel  narra- 
tives, and  to  such  a  volume  many  people  are  now  turning 
who  are  eager  to  escape  the  unsatisfactory  alternative  which 
has  often  been  presented,  either  to  endorse  the  crudest  or- 
thodox literalism  or  else  to  deny  in  toto  the  marvelous  tales 
with  which  the  gospel  narratives  abound.  When  Strauss 
published  the  first  edition  of  his  "Life  of  Jesus"  while  a 
very  young  man,  he  satisfied  some  of  his  skeptical  col- 
leagues, and  gave  much  delight  to  many  people  outside  of 
Germany  as  well  as  within  its  borders,  by  insisting  upon  an 
altogether  mythical  view  of  the  alleged  fniraculous,  but  so 
feeble  an  interpretation  of  the  origin  of  several  "  myths  " 
as  Strauss  attempted,  served  to  cast  serious  discredit  upon  his 
conclusions,  at  least  among  inquiring  people  who  are  never 


226  Universal  Spiritualism 

likely  to  rest  content  with  mere  dismissal  of  a  difficult 
problem  in  an  extremely  commonplace  manner.  No  better 
illustration  of  the  defect  of  Strauss*  method  can  be  given 
than  its  attempted  explanation  of  the  tradition  that  Jesus 
walked  on  the  water  by  deciding  that  he  simply  walked 
on  the  seashore  and  from  that  trivial  circumstance, — 
which  could  have  excited  no  reasonable  wonder,  seeing 
that  to  walk  by  the  sea  is  a  familiar  everyday  occurrence, — 
there  arose  the  legend  that  Jesus  was  seen  by  his  disciples 
walking  on  the  waves.  "  Credulity  is  heavily  taxed  to  ac- 
cept so  far-fetched  a  solution,  because  it  is  well  known  that 
mythical  stories  are  built  upon  unusual  and  surprising 
events  which  appeal  strongly  to  imagination  and  for  which 
no  scientific  explanation  has  yet  been  offered ;  and  so  sim- 
ple a  fact  as  a  man  walking  by  the  sea  is  utterly  inadequate 
to  set  a  wonderful  story  floating,  as  the  circumstance  is  so 
common  that  no  one  would  think  twice  about  it  seeing  that 
there  is  no  mystery  connected  with  it  requiring  any  ex- 
planation whatever. 

Far  easier  is  it  to  credit  the  romantic  theory  of  Renan 
than  the  skeptical  theory  of  Strauss,  though  Renan 's  por- 
trait of  Jesus  is  at  times  so  weak  as  to  fall  far  below  the 
necessary  heroic  standard.  That  Jesus  stands  at  least  for 
a  Master,  and  was  so  regarded  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era  is  a  fact  beyond  reasonable  dispute,  despite 
the  fact  that  Dupuis,  Gerald  Massey,  and  many  other  dis- 
tinguished authors,  in  their  determined  endeavors  to  prove 
Christianity  identical  with  a  far  older  Solar  Cultus,  have 
sought  to  disprove  utterly  all  historical  foundation  for  the 
gospels.  The  three  gospels  attributed  to  Matthew,  Mark 
and  Luke,  commonly  styled  Synoptic,  undoubtedly  record 
historic    incidents,  so  does  the  mystical  Fourth   Gospel, 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  227 

though  in  less  pronounced  degree ;  for,  unlike  its  prede- 
cessors in  the  Canon,  it  commences  with  a  Gnostic  disser- 
tation concerning  the  Logos  which  Theosophists  declare 
''ensouls  "  the  universe. 

In  John  14  we  have  a  striking  illustration  of  the  con- 
tinuity of  earlier  teachings,  when  the  Master  says  to  his 
disciples  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions 
(abiding  places),  if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you." 
Such  language  seems  perfectly  to  confirm  an  already  ac- 
cepted truth  but  does  not  serve  to  enunciate  a  new  doc- 
trine. ''Whither  I  go  ye  know  and  the  way  ye  know" 
may  also  be  fairly  taken  as  another  proof  of  the  complete 
agreement  which  subsisted  between  the  primitive  Christian 
gnostic  teaching  and  the  more  ancient  teachings  with 
which  primitive  Christianity  was  in  complete  accord,  and 
of  which  its  distinctive  doctrine  was  a  continuation. 

Many  strange  allusions  to  "baptism  for  the  dead"  and 
other  ancient  rites,  found  in  the  epistles  of  Paul,  show  to 
every  student  that  early  Christian  practices  were  in  many 
respects  identical  with  pre-Christian  customs  which  had 
been  long  established  and  which  were  intended  to  confer 
aiivantages  alike  upon  those  yet  on  earth  and  their  departed 
brethren.  In  the  Apostle's  Creed,  Jesus  is  said  to  have 
"  descended  into  hell,"  which  is  often  translated  Hades, — 
the  general  abode  of  departed  spirits.  Here  is  an  unmis- 
takable evidence  that  when  that  early  creed  was  compiled 
no  such  ideas  as  a  hell  of  endless  torment  had  entered  the 
Christian  mind,  for  no  Saviour  would  minister  among  the 
irrevocably  lost. 

The  early  Christian  assemblies  were  meetings  of  devout 
and  fraternal  persons  who  exercised  their  various  spiritual 
gifts  one  by  one  in  open  conference,  and  it  was  only  after 


228  Universal  Spiritualism 

some  of  these  meetings  had  become  disorderly  and  sober 
discipHne  had  been  relaxed,  that  it  was  necessary  for  Paul, 
as  overseer  of  many  federated  congregations,  to  rebuke 
disorderly  practices  and  insist  that  all  things  be  conducted 
''  decently  and  in  order."  '^  The  spirits  of  the  prophets  are 
subject  to  the  prophets"  is  a  clear  reference  to  the  orderly 
exercise  of  spiritual  gifts  in  an  assembly,  and  surely  not 
even  one  who  seeks,  in  these  days,  to  attribute  all  spirit- 
communion  to  "evil"  influences  will  be  found  ready  to 
concede  that  the  faithful,  self-denying  early  Christians  who 
jeopardized  their  earthly  all  by  fidelity  to  their  convictions 
and  stood  ready  to  shed  their  blood,  if  need  arose,  for  the 
Christian  cause,  were  possessed  with  devils.  Only  the 
rational  view  of  spirit-communion,  which  we  are  taking, 
/explains  phenomena  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
'if  it  come  to  comparison  between  ancient  and  modern 
marvels  and  mysteries  little  difference  can  be  discerned  be- 
tween the  two.  Wherever  we  turn  for  confirmation  we  find 
that  orderly  and  disorderly  conditions  contemporaneously 
prevail,  and  it  ever  has  been  and  still  is  intensely  neces- 
sary that  we  should  uphold  the  former  and  not  let  the  lat- 
ter go  unreproved. 

To  understand  at  all  clearly  the  attitude  of  the  earliest 
Christian  church  towards  spirit-communion  we  must  never 
allow  ourselves  to  forget  that  the  first  impetus  given  to  the 
Christian  movement  was  its  claim  to  have  demonstrated 
human  immortality  in  an  age  and  in  countries  where  faith 
therein  had  well  nigh  expired  or  where  doubt  was  gaining 
so  great  a  foothold  that  the  path  to  the  hereafter  was  so 
deeply  veiled  in  shadow  as  to  make  the  hour  of  dissolu- 
tion one  of  impenetrable  gloom.  '  Jesus  brought  life  and 
immortality    *'to   light" — such  was   the   early    Christian 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  2 2g 

claim,  and  this  he  could  not  have  done  unless  he  had  will- 
ingly surrendered  himself  to  crucifixion  when  his  opponents 
desired  to  crucify  him.  ♦'  Have  no  fear  of  those  who  can 
kill  the  body,  for  that  is  all  that  they  can  do"  is  a  text 
which  announces  spiritual,  not  fleshly,  immortality  in  terms 
of  unmistakable  lucidity.  It  was  not  a  physical  but  a 
spiritual  body  which  arose  and  appeared  to  many  and  ulti- 
mately ceased  to  manifest  on  earth  except  in  such  rare  in- 
stances as  that  of  the  appearance  to  Saul  of  Tarsus  at  the 
time  of  his  conversion. 

'  It  is  absurd  to  argue  that  Jesus  did  not  sanction  spiritual 
communion  because  he  told  Thomas  that  it  was  more 
blessed  to  be  endowed  with  spiritual  perception  than  to  be 
dependent  upon  tangible  external  demonstrations,  for  such 
it  ever  must  be. 

The  men  and  women  of  nineteen  centuries  ago  who 
were  led  to  embrace  Christianity  in  its  pristine  period 
were  human  beings  like  ourselves,  with  deep  affections 
and  yearning  aspirations  such  as  we  are  conscious  of. 
/Neither  in  the  established  Judaism  or  Paganism  of  their 
day  did  they  find  the  evidences  or  the  consolation  which 
they  sought,  any  more  than  people  find  either  to-day  in  a 
hard  institutionalized  ecclesiasticism  or  in  a  scientific 
agnosticism  which  is  always  its  close  companion,  though 
seemingly  its  direct  antagonist. 

No  amount  of  bewildering  speculation  can  ever  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  human  love,  for  in  hours  of  bereavement  people 
are  not  seeking  to  know  whether  by  some  vaguely  defined 
alchemistic  process  they  can  eventually  *'  cheat  the  under- 
taker," they  are  striving  to  receive  proof  that  their  beloved 
friends  who  have  departed  are  still  alive  and  loving  and 
capable  of  communing   with   them   still.     To   the   early 


230  Universal  Spiritualism 

Christians,  who  were  in  ronstant  peril  of  losing  theii' 
earthly  all,  all  material  things  (fleshly  bodies  included)  ap- 
peared of  very  little  value.  They  were  in  constant  danger 
of  underrating  rather  than  of  overvaluing  the  material  world 
and  all  that  it  contains.  While  we  cannot  find  ourselves 
entirely  in  accord  with  all  primitive  Christian  views  and 
practices,  any  more  than  we  can  sympathize  entirely  with 
the  beliefs  and  ways  of  modern  Spiritualists,  we  do  affirm 
that  the  early  Christian  rehgion  was  founded  upon  demon- 
strated individual  immortality,  and  that  it  taught  a  pro- 
gressive continuous  life  for  every  human  being  after  drop- 
ping the  external  organism.  Mourning  for  the  departed 
received  no  sanction  in  the  early  Christian  church ;  white 
robes,  not  black,  were  worn  on  occasions  of  transition,  and 
at  the  service  of  holy  communion  it  was  generally  believed 
not  only  that  commemoration  of  the  departed  should  be 
made  and  prayers  for  their  continued  progress  offered,  but 
also  that  they  were  often  truly  present  with  their  fellow 
communicants  and  still  took  part  in  the  blessings  of  the 
united  spiritual  feast. 

Slowly,  but  surely,  is  modern  Christendom  returning  to 
the  ancient  esoteric  faith;  one  by  one  clergymen,  now 
branded  as  heretics  by  their  materialistic  and  ritualistic 
confreres,  are  coming  to  the  front  with  outspoken  declara- 
tions which  strike  the  less  spiritually-minded  but  pro- 
fessedly "orthodox"  among  their  brethren  with  indigna- 
tion and  alarm ;  but  the  old  fallacy  of  a  fleshly  resurrec- 
tion has  to  die  and  it  is  surely  dying,  and  not  slowly,  that 
in  its  place  may  rise  a  spiritual  conception  of  immortality 
in  which  science  and  religion  can  unite  their  wedded 
hands.  The  following  utterance  from  a  distinguished 
English   clergyman  is  amply  sufficient  to  show  the  drift 


Ideas  of  the  Soul  and  of  Spirit-Communion  231 

of  modern  religious  thought,  back  to  primitive  spiritual 
conceptions  and  forward  to  new  and  nobler  definitions  of 
life  and  its  endless  continuity.  We  offer  no  comment,  we 
agree  so  perfectly  with  the  quoted  words  that  we  prefer  to 
leave  them  without  addition  of  our  own  to  make  their 
salutary  influence  felt  upon  every  attentive  reader's  mind. 
The  author  of  the  following  quotation  is  the  Rev.  Forbes 
Phillips,  vicar  of  Gorleston,  who  has  dramatized  Guy 
Thome's  popular  book,  ''  When  it  was  Dark." 
^'*'For  my  own  part  I  declare  plainly  as  a  high  church 
clergyman,  who  indeed  wears  vestments  and  lights  candles 
on  the  altar,  that  I  do  not  consider  it  an  article  of  Christian 
faith  that  his  body  did  rise  from  the  tomb.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  believe  it  did  not.  I  believe  if  we  were  to  make 
careful  exploration  in  Palestine  to-day  we  might  actually 
come  across  the  sacred  tomb  and  discover  within  it  the 
precious  body  of  our  Lord  ;  or,  at  all  events,  dim  remains 
of  it  as  it  was  hidden  away  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea. 

"  Christ  rose  in  spirit.  It  was  the  spirit  that  appeared 
to  the  disciples  so  constantly  after  the  crucifixion.  It 
was  a  spirit  that  ascended  into  heaven,  and  it  is  a  glorious 
spirit  that  appears  and  has  appeared  during  the  long  cen- 
turies to  thousands  of  wearied  Christians  here  on  earth." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH  IN  MODERN  EUROPE 

Under  the  name  of  psychical  research  the  phenomena 
of  SpirituaUsm  are  being  carefully  and  cautiously  investi- 
gated in  Great  Britain,  and  also,  to  a  very  great  extent,  in 
France,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  in  Paris  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  avoid  meeting  talented  and  influential  people 
who  are  actively  engaged  in  this  important  and  alluring 
study.  When  the  writer,  in  1895,  was  the  honored  guest 
of  Marie,  Countess  of  Caithness,  Duchesse  of  Pomar, — 
known  all  over  the  literary  world  as  a  learned  and  enthusi- 
astic exponent  of  Spiritualism  and  Theosophy, — at  the 
magnificent  palace  in  Ave  Wagram,  named  Holyrood  in 
honor  of  Marie  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,  whom  the  duchess 
believed  to  be  her  spiritual  guardian,  all  sorts  of  interest- 
ing people  gathered  in  the  splendid  salon  to  discuss  all 
conceivable  aspects  of  psychic  science.  It  was  then  that 
many  of  the  movements  which  have  now  grown  to  large 
proportions  were  in  a  comparatively  incipient  stage,  though 
even  then  Spiritism  asset  forth  by  ''Allan  Kardec  "  was 
a  well  established  cult,  possessing  an  extensive  literature 
and  represented  by  many  gifted  men  and  women  of  high 
social  standing  and  far  more  than  average  intelligence. 
Three  of  Allan  Kardec's  works — ''The  Mediums'  Book," 
"The  Spirits'  Book,"  and  "Heaven  and  Hell"— had 
long  been  translated  into  excellent  English  by  the  famous 
Anna  Blackwell,  and  still  another — "Genesis" — trans- 
lated by  the  present  writer,  had  appeared    in  America. 

232 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  233 

These  four  books  constitute  the  leading  text-books  of 
European  Spiritists,  who  nearly  all  accept  the  doctrine  of 
reincarnation  as  well  as  spirit-communion.  The  work  of 
the  Leymaries  has  long  been  widely  and  favorably  known, 
and  at  the  headquarters  of  the  organization  of  which  P.  G. 
Leymarie  (now  succeeded  by  his  son)  was  long  the  head, 
every  phase  of  mysterious  phenomena  is  persistently  and 
critically  investigated. 

The  fine  premises  known  as  42  Rue  Saint  Jacques,  are 
the  centre  of  spiritistic  operations  participated  in  by  many 
of  the  most  famous  scientists  in  Europe,  for  in  France  and 
Italy  scientific  men  of  recognized  high  standing  are  fore- 
most in  the  ranks  of  psychical  investigation.  The  works 
of  Flamarion,  the  world-renowned  astronomer,  have  done 
very  much  to  popularize  enquiry  into  everything  *'  occult  "  ; 
his  splendid  collection  of  well  authenticated  facts,  pub- 
lished as  ''L'Inconnu"  (an  English  edition  of  which 
bears  the  title  ''The  Unknown  ")  has  served  to  open  the 
eyes  of  very  many  who  might  never  have  been  led  to  inves- 
tigate had  it  not  been  for  the  prestige  given  to  the  enquiry 
by  so  great  a  scientist. 

Victorien  Sardou,   the  famous  playwright,   for  a  great 

many  years  has  been  a  prominent  advocate  of  Spiritualism, 

and  it  is  well  known  that  Victor  Hugo  and  many  others 

\ among  French  ''immortals"  have  vouched  for  the  reality 

I  of  spirit-communion. 

The  Martinists  and  various  other  mystic  orders  have  in- 
fluential membership  in  Paris  which,  despite  its  frivolity  on 
the  surface,  has  a  deep  undercurrent  of  genuine  spirituality, 
which  no  skepticism  or  indifference  has  ever  been  able  ef- 
fectually to  quell. 

We  hear  of  "  Satanism,"  which  is  Black  Art  and  alto- 


234  Universal  Spiritualism 

gether  opposed  to  true  Spiritualism,  Occultism  and  Theoso- 
phy,  but  that  is  but  a  sad  perversion  of  a  mighty  and 
glorious  force  which,  when  rightly  understood  and  wisely 
/handled  is  capable  of  contributing  enormously  to  human 
'welfare.  Despite  the  constantly  reiterated  assertion  that 
France  is  atheistic  in  its  modern  tendency,  nothing  can  be 
further  from  the  truth  so  far  as  its  most  enlightened  citizens 
are  concerned.  The  Republic  has  indeed  exalted  State 
above  Church,  but,  in  so  doing,  though  it  has  completely 
secularized  education,  it  has  cleared  the  way  for  a  new  and 
perfectly  unfettered  investigation  of  the  secret  forces  of 
Nature  which  can  now  be  fearlessly  conducted,  without  fear 
of  interruption,  unless  deeds  are  performed  so  much  at 
variance  with  common  rights  and  liberties  that  the  arm  of 
civil  law  must  be  invoked,  in  which  case  the  wrong-doing 
of  clairvoyants,  palmists,  astrologers  and  others  must  be 
jusdy  dealt  with  precisely  as  similar  misdemeanors  com- 
mitted by  other  classes  of  society.  Clairvoyants  in  France 
are  numerous  and  often  very  reliable,  though  too  many 
seers  and  seeresses  are  unduly  given  to  enlarging  upon  the 
dark  side  of  whatever  they  psychically  discern.  France  is 
a  curiously  impressionable  country ;  its  very  atmosphere 
seems  favorable  to  psychical  development,  and  the  ready 
impressionability  of  its  inhabitants  makes  it  far  less  diffi- 
cult for  spiritual  views  of  life  to  gain  a  footing  there  than 
in  lands  where  the  temperament  and  habits  of  the  people 
incline  to  the  solid  rather  than  to  the  volatile. 

The  influence  exerted  by  the  Duchesse  de  Pomar  was  ex- 
ceedingly great,  as  she  combined  with  ample  means  and 
high  station  a  superb  intellectual  equipment  for  literary  en- 
terprises in  which  she  magnificently  excelled.  For  many 
years    the    fine   monthly  magazine  she  edited   L'Aurore 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  235" 

was  the  paper  par  excellence  in  which  might  always  be 
found  the  latest  and  most  brilliant  utterances  of  the  greatest 
thinkers  in  Europe  who  undertook  to  treat  on  psychic 
themes.  When  that  truly  noble  lady  passed  to  spirit-life 
in  the  autumn  of  1895,  no  one  was  found  to  exactly  fill  the 
place  the  good  duchess  had  left  vacant ;  but,  though  such 
was  literally  the  sad  fact  a  perfect  host  of  honorable  and 
capable  men  and  women  have  arisen  on  all  sides  to  sustain 
and  further  develop  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
psychic  side  of  human  nature.  That  very  popular  Ameri- 
can periodical,  Everybody' s  Magazine^  published  a 
finely  illustrated  article  (March,  1906)  by  Vance  Thomp- 
son, entitled  ''The  Invisible  World,"  in  which  the  pubUc 
has  been  treated  to  an  insight  into  spiritualistic  and  occult 
doings  which  must  have  proved  a  great  eye-opener  to  those 
belated  people  who  do  not  know  that  this  scientific 
twentieth  century  is  most  keenly  alive  to  the  evidences  of 
life  immortal  and  that  European  as  well  as  American  and 
Australian  capitals  are  centres  of  investigation,  leading 
rapidly  to  results  which  are  completely  demolishing 
materialism  and  putting  to  rout  at  the  same  instant  per- 
verted religious  dogmatism.  A  photograph  of  Spiritualist 
Headquarters  in  London  shows  a  fine  building  in  Hanover 
Square,  a  most  fashionable  West  End  district,  the  seat  of 
the  famous  St.  George's  Church,  famed  as  the  historic 
fane  in  which  countless  aristocratic  marriages  have  been 
celebrated.  The  next  illustration  shows  us  the  interior  of 
the  great  hall  in  Rue  d'  Athenes,  Paris,  where  a  highly 
distinguished  company  of  learned  men  and  women  are 
seen  seated  at  a  conference  of  the  Society  for  psychical 
Research,  of  which  Professor  Charles  Richet  is  president. 
This   body  has  had  in  its  presidential  chair  at  different 


236  Universal  Spiritualism 

times  Sir  William  Crookes,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  and  others 
among  the  most  distinguished  scientists  of  the  present  age. 
Such  men  are  neither  charlatans  nor  the  dupes  of  tricksters, 
and  it  is  they,  and  others  like  them,  who  are  now  conduct- 
ing intricate  and  elaborate  investigations  which  are  bearing 
abundant  fruit,  though  the  measures  employed  seem  often 
unnecessarily  slow  and  laborious  to  convinced  spiritualists, 
for  whom  these  tedious  proceedings  appear  not  to  be  neces- 
sary ;  but  such  should  never  lose  sight  of  the  important  fact 
that  the  scientific  world  is  not  made  up  of  lucides  or  sensi- 
tives, and  the  outside  non-sensitive  public  is  demanding  a 
record  of  scientifically  conducted  experiments  prior  to 
accepting  as  proven  the  stupendous,  though  intrinsically 
simple,  facts  for  which  these  learned  savants  are  prepared 
to  vouch. 

Another  photograph  shows  Flamarion  lecturing  on  some 
phase  of  Spiritualism  in  which  he  has  been  deeply  and 
critically  interested  from  his  youth.  Celebrities  and  their 
endorsement  mean  much  to  many  minds,  and  rightly  so  in 
some  senses,  for  men  who  are  devoting  their  lives  indus- 
triously to  the  pursuit  of  any  branch  of  science,  provided 
their  researches  are  being  honorably  conducted,  are  justly 
entitled  to  our  attention  and  esteem.  It  takes  the  trained 
observer  and  experimentalist  to  carefully  weigh  all  minor 
points  in  evidence,  and  if  these  are  neglected,  testimony 
otherwise  valuable  often  remains  decidedly  inconclusive. 

Major  Darget's  portrait  is  also  presented  as  one  interested 
in  matters  occult,  and  he  as  discoverer  of  the  '*  N  Ray  " 
has  long  been  one  of  the  brilliant  and  highly-honored 
lights  in  French  scientific  circles. 

A  comparatively  new  word  is  now  in  constant  use — 
metapsychicaly  which  undoubtedly  means  much  more  than 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  237 

the  old  metaphysical  and  it  has  a  congenial  companion  in 
supernormal,  which  has  largely  driven  from  the  vocabulary 
of  culture  the  ancient  supernatural.  Terms  are  valuable 
to  the  extent  that  they  clearly  express  ideas,  but  no  further, 
and  if  the  new  word  metapsychical  proves  a  successful 
candidate  for  scientific  honors,  scientific  men  who  use  it 
must  be  prepared  to  define  exactly  what  they  mean  by 
psychical,  and  then  go  on  to  define  meta,  which  properly 
means  beyond.  That  extremely  foolish  phrase  "uncon- 
scious mind,"  which  we  regret  to  discover  is  holding  high 
carnival  in  reputable  literature,  conveys  no  intelligible  idea 
to  the  average  thoughtful  reader.  Super  and  sub,  mean- 
'  ing  respectively  higher  and  lower,  may  be  allowed  to  stand 
as  expressive  prefixes,  but  un  is  a  negative  term,  and  there- 
fore definable  only  as  an  expression  of  negation.  There  is 
no  unconscious  mind,  though  the  mind  may  be  expressed 
on  various  planes  in  diverse  manners. 

The  savants  of  Europe  who  are  busy  wrestling  with 
occult  problems,  are  certainly  on  their  way  to  many 
valuable  discoveries,  but  many  of  their  present  positions 
are  purely  tentative,  and  as  they  honestly  and  fearlessly 
admit,  they  are  not  afraid  to  propose  hypotheses  tem- 
porarily and  then  abandon  one  hypothesis  in  favor  of  an- 
other when  further  knowledge  compels  the  taking  of  some 
more  advanced  position.  ''Everything  is  possible; 
nothing  is  proved."  Such  is  the  introductory  statement 
likely  to  be  made  by  the  scientific  researcher  who,  stand- 
ing on  the  threshold  of  a  vast  unknown,  refuses  to  pro- 
nounce anything  unknowable.  In  like  manner  are  we 
dropping  from  our  vocabulary,  when  we  seek  to  be  rigidly 
scientific  in  our  choice  of  terms,  such  familiar,  but  often 
misleading,  words   as   invisible,  inaudible,   incurable,  in- 


238  Universal  Spiritualism 

corrigible,  and  many  more  of  the  same  family.  As  substi- 
tutes for  the  terms  we  are  discarding  we  are  bringing  rightly 
into  prominent  employ  such  reasonable  and  useful  words 
as  unseen,  unheard,  uncorrected,  and  many  more  of  like 
import  which  do  not  close  the  door  upon  any  sort  of  in- 
vestigation, but  only  describe  an  immediate  and  temporary 
agnostic  attitude,  which  may  at  any  moment  yield  to  a 
gnostic  position  as  a  result  of  successful  new  discovery. 

Much  stress  is  laid  in  many  quarters  upon  the  dangers  to 
ill-balanced  minds  resulting  from  too  close  attention  given  to 
things  mysterious ;  but,  though  caution  is  doubtless  needed, 
and  there  have  been  some  sad  catastrophes  resulting  appar- 
ently from  unwise  dabbling  in  the  ''occult,"  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  scientific  research  in  general,  as  well  as  the 
pursuit  of  further  application  of  the  principles  of  mechanics, 
has  never  been  unattended  with  some  degree  of  danger  as 
well  as  difficulty.  It  is  therefore  only  puerile  to  cry  out 
against  investigation  because  danger  and  difficulty,  to  some 
extent,  surround  the  gate  of  the  temple  of  higher  knowl- 
edge. Where  would  have  been  the  great  railways, 
canals,  electric  cables,  and  a  thousand  other  valuable  ap- 
pliances in  the  modern  world  if  inventors  and  explorers 
had  been  scared  from  their  work  by  the  parrot-cry  of 
those  whom  Longfellow  well  described  in  his  poetic  gem 
"Excelsior,"  but  to  whose  croakings  and  warnings  the 
intrepid  Alpine  climber  would  pay  no  heed  ?  Timid  peo- 
ple whose  nerves  are  weak  and  whose  hearts  are  in  a 
i  pathological  condition  must  move  very  cautiously  in  all 
^directions ;  but  the  stronger  and  healthier  members  of  the 
Ihuman  race  will  never  content  themselves  with  follow- 
ing directions  adapted  only  to  the  needs  of  the  weakest 
(specimens.     But    though   there   are   dangers   as   well   as 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  239 

difficulties  along  the  road  of  psychical  investigation,  the 
uncanny  aspects  of  the  question  are  greatly  exaggerated, 
and  in  almost  all  cases  where  insanity  and  crime  have  been 
attributed  to  psychic  investigation  or  to  the  development 
and  exercise  of  "  mediumship,"  it  has  been  found  after 
more  close  examination  that  quite  other  causes  than  those 
alleged  by  the  enemies  of  Spiritualism  had  been  manifestly 
working  to  produce  disastrous  ends. 

.  Religious  revivals  and  all  forms  of  emotional  excitement 
are  very  dangerous  for  some  people,  and  much  as  we  may 
wish  to  reform  Spiritualistic  methods,  as  we  certainly  de- 
sire also  to  reform  religious  propaganda,  we  cannot  do 
either  by  holding  up  to  unreasonable  execration  an  entire 
system  because  it  manifests  certain  grave  faults  which 
greatly  need  correction.  Ella  Wheeler  Wilcox  gave  ex- 
cellent advice  to  multitudes  through  the  medium  of  the 
Hearst  newspapers  when  she  counseled  astrologers, 
palmists,  clairvoyants  and  all  to  whom  the  public  go  to 
"get  their  fortunes  told,"  to  exercise  great  wisdom  in 
plying  their  vocation,  for  her  good  sense  and  wide  experi- 
ence in  the  world  had  fully  assured  her  that  people  will 
enquire  into  the  mysterious,  precisely  as  they  will  visit 
doctors,  lawyers,  and  many  other  classes  of  people  when 
they  are  in  doubt  or  trouble.  We  certainly  cannot  prevent 
the  exercise  of  psychic  gifts  or  the  investigation  of  aught 
that  is  ''occult"  in  private,  even  though  the  law  should 
put  down  its  public  practice,  we  are  only  reasonable,  there- 
fore, in  so  far  as  we  determine  to  accept  an  existing  situa- 
tion and  seek  to  make  the  best  of  it  in  the  truly  practical 
way  of  setting  to  work  to  improve  and  refine  what  cannot 
be  abolished. 

The  darker  aspects  of  Parisian  Occultism  have  no  con- 


240  Universal  Spiritualism 

nection  whatever  with  scientific  research  or  with  Spiritual- 
ism, and  though  they  are  getting  a  good  deal  of  advertis- 
ing they  exercise  only  a  very  slight  influence  in  any  other 
than  the  most  morally  depraved  circles  of  society.  Spirit 
pictures,  drawn  automatically  through  the  hand  of  the 
distinguished  etcher  Ferdinand  Demoulins,  have  excited 
much  attention  among  Parisians,  and  spirit  photographs 
vouched  for  by  the  famous  Col.  de  Rochas  are  also  objects 
of  considerable  interest. 

All  these  things  are  very  wonderful,  and  the  attention 
they  excite  is  more  than  transitory,  but  even  these  marvels 
pale  in  genuine  importance,  in  the  esteem  of  many,  in  the 
presence  of  the  wonderful  works  of  healing  which  are 
constantly  attested  by  competent  witnesses,  who  know  of 
the  immense  benefit  derived  by  many  sufferers  through  the 
agency  of  psychic  treatment  or  psycho-therapy,  often 
clumsily  designated  hypnotism,  which  is  a  misleading  term 
unless  applied  exclusively  to  methods  which  induce  sleep 
or  are  in  some  way  connected  with  it,  as  hypnosis  from  the 
Greek  hypnos  must  always  properly  mean  a  state  of 
somnolence,  and  very  many  cases  of  psychic  cure  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  in  any  sense  of  the  word  with  any 
somnambulic  condition. 

Professor  Durville,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Magnetic 
School  (L'Ecole  Magnetique, — 25  Rue  Saint  Merri)  has 
recently  achieved  much  prominence,  and  there  are  many 
others  in  Paris  to  whom  the  suffering  public  is  greatly 
indebted  for  relief  from  distressing  maladies.  If  it  be  as- 
serted that  nervous  cases  and  diseases  of  the  imagination  are 
almost  the  only  types  of  malady  which  are  successfully 
treated  by  psychic  methods,  then  be  it  so,  if  such  shall 
prove  the  case,  but  even  did  we  make  so  exaggerated  an 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  241 

admission  we  should  still  be  compelled  to  gratefully  ac- 
knowledge that  a  beneficent  agency  is  at  work  which  is 
grappling  successfully  with  many  of  the  obscurest  and 
most  distressing  ailments  which  baffle  at  every  turn  the 
skill  of  the  most  eminent  physicians. 

Telepathy  is  pronounced  *'an  acquired  certainty"  by 
those  who  have  studiously  proved  it,  and  instead  of  Spir- 
itualists displaying  wisdom  by  fighting  shy  of  it  as  though 
it  were  an  offset  to  spirit-communion,  it  is  found  to  be  ex- 
actly the  reverse  as  further  researches  in  psychology  are 
constantly  demonstrating  with  ever-brightening  conclusive- 
ness that  the  telepathic  faculty  survives  physical  dissolu- 
tion, and  can  be  and  often  is  employed  by  our  discarnate 
as  well  as  by  our  incarnate  friends,  when  seeking  to  com- 
municate. Vance  Thompson  tells  us  that  while  accepted 
Science  does  not  go  quite  so  far  as  Occultism,  it  certainly 
sets  forth  the  following  propositions  : 

I  St.  There  exist  in  Nature  certain  unknown  forces 
capable  of  acting  on  matter. 

2d.  We  possess  other  means  of  knowledge  than  those 
of  reason  or  the  senses. 

This  second  statement  applies  to  the  subjective  phe- 
nomena of  ''metaphysics,"  which  includes  telepathy, 
second  sight,  clairvoyance,  and  all  else  that  is  closely 
allied  with  such  a  broad  general  classification. 

While  speaking  of  French  institutions,  we  must  not  for- 
get to  mention  the  temple  of  the  Martinists  (the  cult 
founded  by  Claude  de  Saint-Martin)  in  the  Latin  Quar- 
ter (13  Rue  Sequier),  of  which  Dr.  Encasse,  generally 
known  as  "  Papus  "  is  the  leader.  This  society  has  spread 
the  world  over,  and  has  recently  established  itself  quite 
successfully   in   America    under   the   leadership   of  Mrs. 


242  Universal  Spiritualism 

Margaret  Peake,  whose  home  is  at  Sandusky,  Ohio.  As 
author  of  ''Born  of  Flame,"  "  Zenia  the  Vestal,"  and 
other  thrilling  occult  stories,  this  gifted  woman  is  quite  a 
literary  celebrity,  and  in  Boston,  a  city  she  often  visits 
and  where  she  is  highly  esteemed,  with  the  cooperation  of 
Dr.  F.  J.  Miller,  a  prominent  teacher  and  practitioner  of 
mental  and  spiritual  therapeutics,  a  Martinist  lodge  has 
been  established  ;  the  opening  sessions  of  which  were  held 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  Miller  in  the  Oxford  Hotel,  Hunting- 
ton Avenue,  late  in  1905.  Sardou  has  done  much  to 
popularize  Spirituahsm  by  his  famous  plays,  and  we  see 
no  cause  for  reasonable  doubt  that  ere  long  the  stage  will 
prove  one  of  the  most  efficient  aids  to  helping  forward  a 
knowledge  of  psychic  forces  as  the  morality  and  miracle 
plays  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  were  influential  in 
spreading  the  religious  and  ethical  opinions  of  that  period, 
and  it  cannot  be  successfully  denied  that  at  the  present 
time  strong  plays  which  introduce  a  psychic  element  are 
very  popular. 

In  Italy  all  phases  of  psychic  phenomena  are  undergoing 
close  examination.  The  eminent  Lombroso  and  other 
world-renowned  scientific  celebrities  take  prominent  part 
in  psychical  investigation,  and  very  persistent  as  well  as 
rigidly  analytical  investigators  do  they  prove  to  be. 
*  Fanatical  churchmen  may  howl  ''  devil,"  and  material- 
ists may  scoff  at  every  attempt  to  unseat  their  favorite 
fallacies,  but  Spiritualism  has  come  to  stay,  and  though  in 
many  quarters  it  has  been  unhappily  saddled  with  excres- 
cences which  need  removing  (and  are  even  now  being  re- 
moved) it  is  beyond  question  that  a  comprehensive  spirit- 
ual philosophy  is  the  coming  philosophy,  uniting,  as  it 
does,  science  with  religion,  and  restoring  knowledge  of  a 


Psychical  Research  in  Modern  Europe  243 

spiritual,  universe  coupled  with  acceptance  of  all  that  ex- 
perimental science  can  reveal.  Europe  is  undergoing  a 
spiritual  renaissance,  and  France  is  heading  the  advancing 
hosts  which  are  patiently  and  industriously  marching  for- 
ward to  ever-increasing  victory. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SLEEP  AS  AN  EDUCATOR— ITS  SPIRITUAL 
PURPOSE  AND  VALUE 

The  most  thoroughly  universal  means  extant  for  ac- 
complishing communion  with  the  unseen  universe  is  un- 
doubtedly through  sleep,  which  though  commonly  regarded 
as  only  a  physiological  necessity,  providing  opportunity  for 
recuperation  through  periodic  rest  for  brain  and  muscles, 
is  in  reality  a  most  blessed  means  for  enabling  all  of  us  to 
enjoy  fellowship,  one  with  another,  regardless  of  distance 
or  any  other  material  barrier. 

The  accepted  ''Masonic"  division  of  time  into  three 
periods  of  eight  hours  each,  in  every  twenty-four,  is  cer- 
tainly wise  in  the  average,  for  it  is  found  by  experience 
that  excellent  health  and  mental  vigor  can  generally  be 
maintained  if  we  devote  eight  hours  every  day  to  our  reg- 
ular business  occupation,  eight  hours  to  eating,  dressing, 
bathing  and  all  varieties  of  recreation  including  active 
outdoor  exercise,  and  eight  hours  to  sleep. 

Sixteen  hours  by  this  arrangement  are  well  accounted 
for  as  spent  in  action,  and  it  is  easily  possible  for  every  one 
to  see  how  during  those  two  thirds  of  time,  we  are  receiv- 
ing instruction  or  are  at  least  capable  of  receiving  it ;  but 
the  remaining  third,  the  eight  hours  spent  in  sleep,  is 
looked  upon  by  many  people  as  practically  wasted  so  far 
as  education  is  concerned,  consequently  many  people  of 
active  temperament  and  ambitious  nature,  grudge  the  time 
they  devote  to  sleep,  and  seek  constantly  to  shorten  it, 

244 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  245 

with  what  disastrous  results  we  are  all  familiar,  but  nothing 
can  well  be  more  self-evident  than  that  lack  of  sleep  is  a 
highroad  to  insanity. 

This  pitiable  contempt  for  **  Nature's  sweet  restorer, 
balmy  sleep  "  is  a  product  of  feverish  unrest  occasioned  by 
an  ultra-physical  idea  of  life,  into  which  no  spiritual  ele- 
ment is  allowed  to  enter  as  an  appreciable  benefit.  We 
are  not  exercising  any  of  our  physical  senses  while  we  are 
sleeping,  and  with  those  who  bind  themselves  to  the  sad 
belief  that  knowledge  can  be  obtained  only  while  we  are 
wide  awake  and  actively  exercising  our  material  senses, 
there  must  be  a  sense  of  repulsion  felt  to  any  phenomenon 
which  takes  us  away  from  the  active  outward  life  in  which 
we  are  so  greatly  interested  that  we  desire  to  devote  to  it 
our  every  energy. 

Were  false  beliefs  concerning  the  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual uses  of  sleep  confined  to  confessed  Materialists, 
there  would  be  no  occasion  for  wonder,  but  the  reputed 
religious,  Bible- reading  world  is  no  less  astray  than  any 
Secularist  community  in  this  respect,  and  it  certainly  does 
seem  curious  that  any  who  credit  Bible  doctrines  should 
disparage  sleep  or  doubt  that  dreams  are  often  both  sig- 
nificant and  prophetic. 

Two  of  the  most  remarkable  Bible  characters  bear  the 
honored  name  of  Joseph,  one  in  the  Old  Testament,  the 
other  in  the  New  Testament,  and  though  they  are  intro- 
duced to  us  as  having  lived  many  centuries  apart,  they 
were  equally  noteworthy  for  the  wonderful  nature  of  their 
dreams,  and  for  their  marvellous  faculty  of  interpretation. 

Joseph  who  wears  the  coat  of  many  colors  or  "long- 
sleeved  "  coat  as  the  Polychrome  Bible  expresses  it,  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  his  brothers  who  were  less  enlightened 


246  Universal  Spiritualism 

than  he,  was  according  to  Genesis,  the  only  man  who  in 
time  of  scarcity  of  crops  had  possessed  sufficient  insight  to 
so  harvest  the  grain  when  it  grew  plenteously,  that  there 
was  abundance  in  store  to  prevent  famine  in  time  of  dearth. 

Pharaoh,  the  native  king  of  Egypt,  could  dream  as  all 
men  can  dream,  but  he  could  not  tell  the  significance  of 
what  he  dreamed,  consequently  his  dreams  though  highly 
significant  in  themselves,  would  have  proved  useless  to 
him,  had  it  not  been  for  Joseph's  interpretations. 

Dreams  are  usually  couched  in  symbols  or  allegory. 
Seven  years  of  plenty  are  represented  by  seven  full  ears 
of  corn,  and  seven  well-fed  cattle,  while  seven  years  of 
scarcity  are  represented  by  seven  wasted  ears  of  corn  and 
seven  starving  cattle. 

To  see  fourteen  years  ahead  seems  truly  marvelous,  but 
it  is  not  altogether  unusual,  for  even  in  recent  times  and 
before  great  interest  had  been  reawakened  in  psychic 
problems,  it  has  often  happened  that  sensitive  people  have 
clearly  seen  events  a  long  while  before  they  actually  oc- 
curred. It  is  not,  then,  with  simple  dreaming,  but  only 
with  interpreting  of  dreams  that  highly  gifted  seers  are 
specially  concerned. 

There  is  always  some  degree  of  difficulty  associated  with 
any  prediction  of  the  future,  because  it  may  reasonably  be 
asked,  how  can  any  seer,  no  matter  how  phenomenally 
gifted,  possibly  see  something  which  has  not  occurred  ? 

Ingenious  explanations  of  reading  the  past  may  readily 
occur  to  us,  and  it  seems  quite  feasible  that  Nature  keeps 
a  book  of  remembrance  in  which  all  events  are  faithfully 
recorded,  and  to  that  scroll  of  record,  seers  and  seeresses 
enjoy  particularly  easy  access. 

"The  future  lies  hidden  in  the  womb  of  the  past." 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  247 

This  is  an  occult  saying  worthy  of  deep  consideration. 
Causes  have  been  already  set  in  motion  which  are  even 
now  bringing  forth  results  which  must  proceed  forth  in 
orderly,  inevitable  sequence.  Admitting  this  proposition, 
it  is  by  no  means  impossible  to  formulate  an  intelligent 
working  hypothesis  to  account  for  the  frequent  fact  that 
coming  events  are  constantly  being  foretold. 

Rash  guesses  and  arbitrary  statements  based  on  the  pe- 
culiar views  which  some  people  entertain  concerning  the 
most  highly  mystical  portions  of  the  Bible,  can  never  be 
reasonably  included  in  the  catalogue  of  prophecies,  because 
the  foolish  and  decidedly  unfulfilled  predictions  based 
upon  such  arbitrary  dogmatism  display  no  spiritual  insight 
and  such  predictions  are  of  no  practical  value. 

All  truly  prophetic  sight  has  a  use  and  its  use  is  sus- 
ceptible of  demonstration  as  in  the  case  of  the  Josephs  of 
both  Testaments.  The  New  Testament  Joseph  is  said 
to  have  seen  an  **  angel  of  the  Lord  "  during  his  sleep,  and 
whilst  he  was  dreaming  he  received  from  that  celestial 
messenger  information  of  great  importance  upon  which  he 
could  and  did  successfully  act.  When  we  are  soundly 
sleeping,  our  minds  disengaged  from  all  ordinary  business 
activities,  we  may  hold  conscious  converse  with  spiritual 
beings  whom,  at  other  times,  we  do  not  hear  or  see. 

The  angels  who  appear  unto  us  at  certain  times  are  not 
necessarily  nearer  to  us  at  those  times  than  on  other  occa- 
sions, but  our  receptive  state  enables  us  to  become  aware 
of  their  presence. 

The  phrase  "unconscious  mind"  is  very  nearly  unin- 
telligible, though  Dr.  Schofield  and  other  learned  and  able 
men  employ  it,  but  while  we  cannot  reasonably  speak  of 
mind  as  unconscious,  we  can  quite  fairly  claim  that  mind 


248  Universal  Spiritualism 

can  function  on  various  planes  of  consciousness,  so  much 
so  that  when  we  are  wide  awake  on  one  plane,  we  are 
sound  asleep  on  another. 

The  two  states — waking  and  sleeping,  are  so  distinct 
that  they  are  rarely  unified,  thus,  in  one  sense  we  are  un- 
conscious of  what  is  going  on,  on  one  plane  of  action, 
when  we  are  completely  engrossed  with  what  is  occurring 
on  another.  Perfectly  sound  refreshing  sleep  may  be 
quite  unconnected  with  ordinary  dreaming,  yet  when  we 
wake  we  find  ourselves  wiser  as  well  as  refreshed  in  conse- 
quence of  our  profound  repose. 

Memory  soon  grows  weak  and  fitful  if  sleep  is  broken, 
and  there  can  be  no  worse  habit  than  to  get  in  the  way  of 
sleeping  as  people  say  <*with  one  eye  open."  Both  eyes 
ought  to  be  completely  closed  and  the  mind  allowed  to 
betake  itself  to  other  regions  of  contemplation  than  those 
in  which  it  moves  during  the  hours  of  the  business  day. 

Joseph  the  carpenter,  attending  to  his  daily  work,  might 
not  have  been  known  as  a  seer  in  Nazareth  ;  had  any  visitors 
met  him  while  he  was  engaged  in  his  accustomed  manual 
task  they  would  have  seen  only  an  industrious  workman 
absorbed  in  his  employment,  but  after  business  hours  when 
the  shop  was  closed  and  Joseph  had  retired  for  the  night, 
he  was  no  longer  carpenter  but  prophet.  A  valuable  book, 
"  The  Mystery  of  Sleep,"  by  Dr.  John  Bigelow  (Harper  & 
Bros.,  New  York  and  London)  is  prefaced  with  the  follow- 
ing quotation  from  Psalm  119,  *'  I  have  remembered  thy 
name,  O  Lord,  in  the  night,  and  have  observed  thy  law," 
and  this  passage  from  lamblichus,  **The  night-time  of  the 
body  is  the  daytime  of  the  soul." 

Dr.  Bigelow  quotes  considerably  from  Swedenborg  with 
whose  philosophy  he  is  greatly  in  accord,  and  we  may  well 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  249 

remember  that  the  gifted  seer  and  sage  of  Sweden  de- 
clared that  the  spiritual  world  is  the  realm  of  causation, 
the  material  state  being  only  a  region  of  effects,  and  he 
distinctly  taught  that  while  we  are  asleep  bodily  we  can  be 
awake  spiritually. 

Dr.  Bigelow  insists  that  *'It  is  not  consistent  with  any 
rational  notion  of  a  Divine  Providence  that  we  should  pass 
one  third  of  our  lives  under  conditions  in  which  we  could 
experience  no  spiritual  growth  or  development,  as  would  be 
the  inevitable  result  of  absolute  rest."  Then  he  continues, 
"Sleep  does  not  represent  or  imply  rest  in  the  sense  of 
inactivity  or  idleness,  psychical  or  physical"  but  <' the 
suspension  of  our  consciousness  during  sleep  simply  in- 
terrupts our  relations  temporarily  with  the  phenomenal 
world  and  shelters  us  from  its  distractions  and  fascinations, 
without  which  spiritual  growth  and  development — the 
divine  purpose  of  our  creation — would  be  impossible." 

The  foregoing  sentences  are  worthy  of  deep  perusal  and 
we  particularly  commend  them  to  all  those  professedly  re- 
ligious persons  who  accept  historically  all  Bible  narratives 
concerning  illumination  during  sleep,  but  reject  the  testi- 
mony of  present-day  seers  to  the  same  phenomena. 

Dr.  Bigelow  is  consistent  with  his  religious  faith  and  at 
the  same  time  eminently  scientific,  when  he  tells  us  that 
**  neither  the  physical  nor  psychical  changes  which  we  are 
conscious  of  having  undergone  during  the  hours  devoted 
to  sleep  can  be  realized  or  accounted  for  if  the  activity  of 
those  faculties,  respectively,  were  suspended  "  and  he 
further  states  that  "the  involuntary  subjugation  of  the 
senses  periodically  to  sleep  is  one  of  the  vital  processes  of 
spiritual  regeneration,  without  which  such  regeneration 
would  be  impossible,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the 


250  Universal  Spiritualism 

most  important  events  in  the  history  of  our  race  were  in- 
itiated during  sleep," 

The  latter  is  a  boM  statement  but  we  believe  it  to  be 
correct,  and  were  we  to  devote  more  study  than  we  do  to 
the  origin  of  great  movements  which  have  led  to  general 
enlightenment,  and  also  to  the  testimonies  of  really  influen- 
tial men  and  women  concerning  their  own  sleep  and 
what  it  has  brought  to  them,  we  should  revise  our  judg- 
ment concerning  the  use  of  this  great  initiator  into  spirit- 
ual mysteries. 

One  of  Dr.  Bigelow's  strongest  statements  is  irrefutable, 
for  no  one  can  deny  that  ^'  all  virtues  favor  sleep,  and  all 
vices  discourage  it."  The  further  declaration  that  "the 
difference  between  sleep  and  death  may  be  more  a  differ- 
ence in  duration  than  condition  "  receives  much  confirma- 
tion, alike  from  seers  of  ancient  and  of  modern  time,  though 
it  is  often  strictly  denied  by  people  who  fail  to  discern 
/  that  man  is  here  and  now  a  spiritual  entity,  and  that 
deprivation  of  the  material  body  implies  no  more  than 
absence  of  a  material  instrument. 

Dreams  are  certainly  only  experiences  which  we  en- 
counter while  passing  from  one  state  of  consciousness  to 
another.  That  is  why  it  is  that,  when  we  wake  hastily, 
as  when  aroused  by  an  alarm,  we  rarely  remember  any 
of  our  dreams  distinctly,  but  when  we  awaken  gradually 
we  often  remember  distinctly  every  detail. 

In  seeking  to  cultivate  what  George  du  Maurier  in 
*'  Peter  Ibbettson"  calls  ''  Dreaming  True  "  we  must  accus- 
tom ourselves  to  passing  into  the  sleeping  state  contemplat- 
ing serenely  and  assuredly  some  definite  object  with  which 
we  desire  to  be  related  during  sleep,  or  with  some  friend 
from  whom  we  should  be  glad  to  receive  some  tidings. 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  251 

There  are  many  friends  who  though  separated  physic- 
ally are  very  near  together  spiritually,  and  though  oc- 
casionally they  receive  some  inkling  of  psychic  association, 
their  general  feeling  is  that  material  circumstances  are 
holding  them  apart.  A  very  extreme  case  is  that  of  the 
two  leading  characters  in  Du  Maurier's  fascinating  story 
which  was  founded  on  genuine  autobiography.  It  is  not 
very  often  that  a  man  like  "  Peter  Ibbettson "  is  con- 
demned to  a  life  sentence  of  imprisonment,  or  that  a 
woman  like  **  The  Duchess  of  Towers  "  remains  so  many 
years  completely  faithful  (even  in  thought)  to  a  childhood's 
companion  under  such  exceptionally  trying  circumstances, 
but  dramatic  high  lights  are  necessary  to  duly  enforce 
the  doctrine  which  Du  Maurier  has  elucidated. 

For  well  on  to  thirty  years  this  man  and  woman  held 
nightly  communion  in  their  charming  fairy  palace  which 
fell  into  ruins  when  the  good  woman  passed  to  spirit 
life ;  but  though  in  the  post-mortem  state  she  could  no 
longer  commune  with  her  lonely,  sorrow  stricken  friend, 
as  in  days  of  yore,  it  was  not  long  before  means  of  com- 
munion were  established,  and  spirit-communion  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term  became  in  their  careers  a  dem- 
onstrated reahty. 

The  revised  version  of  the  Psalms  gives  a  much  clearer 
idea  of  the  original  than  does  the  old  translation,  which 
though  not  necessarily  inaccurate  is  often  obscure  and 
unsatisfactory.  "  He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep  "  is  a  beau- 
tiful motto,  but  Psalm  127,  from  which  it  is  taken,  really 
says  a  great  deal  more,  for  it  declares  "  he  giveth  unto 
his  beloved  in  their  sleep,"  distinctly  teaching  education 
during  slumber. 

It  is  often  admitted  that  remarkable  enlightenment  may 


252  Universal  Spiritualism 

come  during  periods  of  ecstasy  or  trance,  but  true  ec- 
I  stasia  or  entrancement  differs  scarcely  at  all  from  ordinary 
f  profound  repose,  except,  as  in  the  case  of  Swedenborg 
\  and  a  few  other  exceptionally  phenomenal  seers,  when  the 
I  two  states  of  consciousness — waking  and  sleeping — were  en- 
joyed simultaneously. 

Nothing  can  be  more  significant  to  the  gospel  student 
than  the  case  related  of  Jesus  soundly  sleeping  through 
a  storm  upon  one  of  the  Galilean  lakes,  while  his  dis- 
ciples who  were  in  the  boat  with  him  were  unable  to 
sleep  because  they  were  in  dread  of  shipwreck. 

That  most  unwholesome  teaching,  which  some  hysterical 
people  have  taken  up  with,  to  the  effect  that  as  we  grow 
more  spiritual  we  shall  do  without  sleep,  is  uncanny  and 
untruthful  in  the  extreme,  and  such  doctrine  is  always 
associated  with  a  morbid  fear  of  losing  or  wasting  time, 
as  though  strenuous  external  activity  were  a  perpetual  ne- 
cessity— which  it  decidedly  is  not. 

People  who  grudge  time  for  rest  never  retain  their  waking 
powers  to  a  ripe  age,  and  the  work  they  accomplish  be- 
trays marks  of  feverish  haste  or  painful  lassitude.  The 
more  spiritually-minded  we  become  the  more  tranquil  are 
our  slumbers,  and  no  one  who  is  a  keen  observer  need 
look  far  afield  to  trace  the  origin  of  that  pleasing  and 
popular  expression  '*  they  are  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the 
just." 

Wherever  there  is  spiritual  destitution  there  is  great 
need  of  physical  vigilance,  therefore,  sleep  is  dreaded  as 
an  enemy  which  puts  us  off  our  guard,  but  so  soon  as  we 
have  grown  into  a  sweet  consciousness  of  spiritual  repose 
our  bodies  enjoy  that  calm  natural  slumber  which  is  always 
the  friend  of  health  and  the  destroyer  of  insanity. 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  253 

To  employ  artificial  aids,  such  as  poisonous  drugs,  to  in- 
duce sleep  is  decidedly  erroneous,  and  the  visions  which  are 
conjured  up  during  the  artificial  sleep  induced  by  opium, 
hasheesh  or  any  other  powerful  and  deadening  narcotic  are 
usually  unreliable. 

Hypnotic  treatment  which  induces  artificial  somnambu- 
lism is  a  subject  of  much  criticism,  and  there  is  but  one 
way  to  settle  its  claims  intelligently,  and  that  is  by  dis- 
criminating clearly  between  statements  made  by  professed 
advocates  and  also  by  defamers  of  all  hypnotic  methods. 
The  remarkable  Avork  accomplished  by  Dr.  John  Quacken- 
bos  of  New  York,  has  brought  the  word  hypnotism  into 
great  dispute,  largely  on  account  of  calling  a  process 
hypnotic  (sleep-inducing)  in  cases  where  the  intention  and 
result  were  entirely  in  the  direction  of  arousing  a  patient 
out  of  a  protracted  sleep  which,  had  it  continued  longer, 
would  have  resulted  in  physical  dissolution. 

Dr.  Quackenbos  was  largely  reported  (during  February, 
1906),  as  having  restored  to  health  by  suggestive  treatment 
a  young  woman  who  was  actually  dying,  and  was  sum- 
moned back  to  earthly  existence  by  the  doctor's  imperative 
call,  to  which  she  responded.  This,  though  wrongly  ad- 
vertised in  many  papers  as  a  case  of  successful  hypnotism 
was  exactly  the  reverse,  and  called  forth  the  following  ex- 
planatory comment  from  Miss  S.  C.  Clark,  a  prominent 
practitioner  of  spiritual  healing,  which,  she  insists,  is  some- 
thing quite  distinct  from  hypnotism,  and  so  it  is,  for  while 
in  some  cases  spiritual  treatment  induces  needed  sleep  it 
never  forces  it,  and  the  unpleasant  feature  of  hypnotism  has 
always  been  the  idea  of  more  or  less  mental  coercion  con- 
nected with  it. 

The  following  extract  from  Banner  of  Lights  February 


254  Universal  Spiritualism 

17,  1906,  presents  the  case  so  fairly  that  comment  upon 
Miss  Clark's  explanations  would  be  superfluous  : 

**In  the  Banner's  issue  of  February  loth  an  instance  is 
given  by  Dr.  John  D.  Quackenbos  of  the  healing  of  a 
young  woman  as  the  result  of  hypnotic  suggestion,  under 
the  heading  '  Hypnotism  Conquers  Death.' 

**  The  writer  begs  leave  to  take  exception,  and  emphasize 
the  fact  that  hypnotism,  pure  and  simple,  formed  no  part 
of  the  cure  related.  Hypnosis — as  the  word  implies — is  an 
artificial  sleep,  in  which  state  the  soul  of  the  subject  is  only 
semi-conscious,  and  obeys  the  dictation  of  another  and 
stronger  will.  In  this  instance,  however,  there  was  simply 
an  appeal  from  a  strong,  healthy  soul  to  the  sluggish,  torpid 
soul  of  the  patient  to  arouse,  to  assert  itself,  which  dormant 
consciousness  then  responded  to  the  call  and  came  to  the 
front  to  resume  the  control  and  inspiration  of  its  own  or- 
ganism. The  mind  awoke  instead  of  being  put  to  sleep, 
the  opposite  condition  from  hypnosis.  This  is  spiritual 
healing,  the  power  of  the  regnant  soul  made  manifest,  and 
is  exercised  constantly  by  those  who  do  not  practice  hyp- 
notism, who  can  '  show  you  a  more  excellent  way,'  those 
who  serve  gladly  as  willing  instruments  through  whom 
divine  agencies  can  bring  a  baptism  of  health  and  strength. 

"  A  prominent  professor  of  Harvard,  himself  an  advocate 
of  hypnotism,  once  affirmed  that  '  the  effects  of  hypnotism 
are  always  superficial  and  temporary.'  The  worthy  Dr. 
Quackenbos  (perhaps  unconsciously),  possessed  doubtless 
a  strong  healing  gift,  an  imperative  soul ;  for  the  mind,  per 
se,  has  no  healing  power,  the  efficacy  of  the  human  will  is 
limited,  but  the  possibihties  of  the  enfranchised  spirit,  in 
its  at-one-ment  with  Omnipotence,  are  boundless." 

During  natural  sleep  it  is  often  possible  to  accomplish 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  255 

great  good  in  the  training  of  children  who  are  often  highly 
amenable  to  right  suggestions  when  asleep,  which  appeal 
directly  to  their  higher  consciousness,  which  is  then  awake. 
The  methods  to  be  employed  are  various,  but  it  is  never 
necessary  either  to  waken  a  sleeping  child  or  to  put  a 
waking  child  to  sleep,  in  order  to  give  a  suggestion. 

When  a  child  is  naturally  sleeping,  you  may  approach 
the  bedside  and  begin  talking  to  the  sleeper  in  a  gentle  but 
decided  voice.  If  the  child  awakes  continue  your  con- 
versation, but  do  not  raise  your  voice  to  any  excited  tone 
or  speak  in  a  high  or  aggressive  key.  Speak  to  the  sleeper 
quietly,  kindly,  firmly,  with  assurance  in  every  accent, 
and  as  all  suggestions,  to  be  effective,  must  be  purely  affir- 
mational,  mention  only  those  good  habits  which  you  desire 
to  aid  the  child  to  practice. 

The  inner  consciousness  of  the  sleeper  receives  will- 
ingly the  good  suggestions  you  kindly  make,  and  these 
sink  into  what  some  modern  psychologists  call  the  ''  sub- 
self"  or  ''subjective  mind,"  and  having  found  lodgment 
therein,  they  form  a  base  for  future  outward  conduct. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  we  often  enjoy  spiritual  com- 
munion during  the  night,  and  it  is  altogether  wrong  to 
deny  that  when  we  are  soundly  sleeping  we  receive  infor- 
mation which  we  often  possess  and  utilize  during  our  day 
hours,  though  we  may  not  recollect  when  or  how  we  re- 
ceived it. 

The  chief  difficulty  with  those  who  postulate  uncon- 
sciousness during  sleep  is  that  they  do  not  realize  that  we 
may  be  temporarily  forgetful  of  experiences  which  we  have 
enjoyed  in  sleep,  and  though  for  a  while  unmindful  of 
them  still  capable  of  recollecting  them.  Memory  and  rec- 
ollection are  not  identical.     We  are  all  possessed  of  more 


256  Universal  Spiritualism 

memory  than  recollection  and  when  people  study  to  "  im- 
prove memory  ' '  they  are  really  seeking  to  gain  a  fuller 
mastery  over  recollection. 

We  all  know  how  frequently  we  remember,  forget,  and 
remember  again.  We  are  all  conscious  of  how  completely 
certain  facts  have  slipped  our  memories,  often  for  a  long 
time,  and  then  quite  unexpectedly  these  memories  revive 
without  apparently  any  external  stimulus.  These  facts 
ought  to  be  weighed  much  more  carefully  than  they  gener- 
ally are,  and  a  careful  weighing  of  them  will  of  necessity 
result  in  our  accounting  for  them  in  one  or  the  other  of  the 
following  ways — we  shall  either  admit  that  we  contain  a  re- 
ceptacle of  knowledge  far  greater  than  we  credit  ourselves 
with  possessing,  or  we  shall  have  recourse  to  the  theory  of 
unseen  spiritual  prompters  who  may  afford  the  necessary 
stimulus  to  reawaken  our  dormant  consciousness. 

A  great  many  interesting  and  valuable  results  are  obtain- 
able while  we  are  sleeping,  and  among  them  we  should  note 
the  benefit  and  enlightenment  we  often  gain  while  sleeping, 
provided  that  before  going  to  sleep  we  have  rightly  disposed 
our  minds  for  the  reception  of  knowledge. 

A  few  notable  historic  cases  of  truly  celebrated  in- 
dividuals may  serve  to  aid  the  reader  in  an  honest  en- 
deavor to  verify  our  main  contention.  Shakespeare's 
plays  abound  in  allusions  to  sleep,  and  among  the  most 
striking  passages  we  may  refer  to  the  incident  of  Brutus  in 
Julius  Caesar,  who  cannot  sleep  immediately  he  begins  to 
entertain  the  thought  that  Caesar  must  be  put  to  death  that 
Rome  be  liberated. 

Then  in  Henry  VII  we  have  these  thrilling  words  de- 
scribing the  result  of  mental  distress  in  depriving  the  King 
of  sleep : 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  257 

"  How  many  thousand  of  my  poorest  subjects 
Are  at  this  hour  asleep !     O  gentle  Sleep, 
Nature's  soft  nurse,  how  have  I  frighted  thee 
That  thou  no  more  wilt  weigh  my  eyelids  down 
Nor  steep  my  senses  in  forgetfulness  ?  " 

A  prevailing  misapprehension  is  almost  universal  that 
we  can  gain  no  good  in  church,  at  a  concert,  or  while 
attending  a  lecture  if  we  are  sleeping.  Such  an  error 
needs  to  be  emphatically  denied  and  all  persons  truly  in- 
terested in  the  cure  of  nervous  ailments  should  be  the  very 
first  to  protest  vigorously  against  so  nerve-wrecking  a 
delusion. 

There  are  many  well-meaning  people  who  would  greatly 
enjoy  attending  evening  functions  of  various  kinds,  were 
they  not  deterred  by  the  fear  that  they  might  sleep  during 
public  exercises.  These  misguided  folk  need  to  study  the 
literature  of  classic  times  and  learn  how  much  good  suf- 
ferers were  wont  to  receive  while  sleeping  in  consecrated 
temples;  and  as  modern  churches  invite  the  public  to 
enter  for  prayer,  meditation  and  rest,  church  edifices  may 
well  be  employed  for  all  these  uses,  separately  and 
collectively. 

Working  people  are  often  sleepy  in  the  evening  but  they 
need  a  change  and  recreation,  and  this  cannot  be  obtained 
by  remaining  in  the  house  when  a  strong  desire  is  felt  to 
go  elsewhere.  ^  A  new  atmosphere  filled  with  joyous  and 
vigorous  mental  currents  is  often  necessary  to  recuperate 
the  weary,  and  after  two  or  three  hours  spent  in  so  vitaliz- 
ing a  surrounding  the  no  longer  tired  workman  or  work- 
woman can  return  to  home  or  lodging  and  sleep  peacefully 
throughout  the  night. 

We  often  hear  people  exclaim  that  they  are  too  tired  to 


258  Universal  Spiritualism 

sleep,  and  that  is  precisely  the  case,  but  this  tiredness  can 
often  be  speedily  overcome  in  a  changed  and  pleasant 
environment.  Dr.  Bigelow  very  wisely  tells  us  that  **  it  is 
not  uncommon  for  those  who  have  no  habit  or  inclination 
to  sleep  during  the  morning  hours  of  secular  days,  to  be 
overcome  with  somnolency  in  church,  soon  after  the 
devotional  exercises  are  begun,  and  who  find  it  impossible 
to  derive  any  edification  from  them  until  they  have  lost 
themselves  for  a  moment  or  two  in  absolute  unconscious- 
ness. 

''Then  they  have  no  difficulty,  sometimes  a  lively  pleas- 
ure in  attending  to  the  exercises  which  follow.  The  wor- 
shiper is  then  withdrawn  from  the  familiar  excitement  of 
customary  avocations.  It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  in  these 
few  moments  of  repose,  upright  in  his  pew,  he  has  rested 
enough,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  that  word,  to  re- 
pair any  waste  of  tissue  that  would  explain  the  new  sense 
of  refreshment  that  ensues. 

'*  He  has  received  in  that  brief  retirement  from  the  world, 
some  reinforcements  which  manifestly  are  not  dependent 
upon  time  or  space  for  their  efficacy — spiritual  reinforce- 
ments only.  He  has  removed  himself,  or  been  removed 
further  away,  out  of  sight  or  hearing  or  thinking,  so  to 
speak,  of  his  phenomenal  life,  and  nearer  to  the  source  of 
all  life." 

Strabo  referring  to  Moses,  whom  he  calls  an  Egyptian 
priest,  speaks  of  his  having  led  those  who  followed  him 
out  of  cities  to  the  open  country  because  there  they  might 
more  readily  commune  with  Deity,  and  also  speaks  of  a  ^ 
sanctuary  without  idols  in  which  great  blessings  were  con- 
ferred on  those  who  slept  within  it. 

The  famous  Greek  temple  dedicated  to  Esculapius  is 


Sleep  As  An  Educator  259 

said  to  have  healed  multitudes  who  slept  in  it.  On  many 
instances  the  presiding  divinity  is  said  to  have  revealed  to 
sufferers  during  sleep  the  means  they  should  pursue  in 
order  to  get  free  from  the  ailments  which  oppressed  them. 
One  of  the  most  famous  instances  on  record  of  remarka- 
ble enlightenment  received  in  sleep  is  two  thousand  years 
old. 

Cicero  made  the  record  and  Macrobius  discovered  it 
after  it  had  been  supposed  lost  for  fifteen  centuries.  The 
vision  of  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio,  the  second  Scipio 
Africanus,  while  he  was  military  tribune  in  Africa  and 
guest  of  Prince  Massanissa,  gives  striking  confirmation 
of  the  illumination  we  may  receive  while  we  are  spiritually 
detached  from  all  relation  with  the  phenomenal  world  in 
which  we  spend  our  waking  consciousness. 

Scipio  relates  that  after  much  talk  about  politics  and 
government,  and  especially  of  his  illustrious  ancestor  the 
first  Africanus,  a  deeper  sleep  than  ordinary  came  over 
him  in  which  his  ancestor  very  distinctly  appeared  to  him 
and  told  him  that  the  preservation  of  the  country  de- 
pended entirely  upon  him  ;  at  the  same  time  the  younger 
Scipio  was  informed  by  his  ancestor  that  many  perils  con- 
fronted him,  but  he  was  assured  that  if  he  were  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  his  every  obligation,  a  special  state  of 
blessedness  awaited  him  after  death. 

Scipio  declares  that  though  terrified,  not  so  much  at  the 
prospect  of  death  as  at  the  thought  that  trusted  friends 
were  proving  treacherous,  he  interrogated  the  spirit  con- 
cerning his  father  Paulus,  and  others  whom  he  thought 
had  died;  the  spirit  answered  him  in  these  words  "  They 
are  alive  indeed,  for  they  have  escaped  from  the  fetters  of 
the  body  as  from  a  prison." 


26o  Universal  Spiritualism 

Then  Scipio  enquired  why,  if  the  Hfe  beyond  death  was 
more  glorious  than  this  present  existence,  he  should  not 
hasten  to  it,  but  he  received  the  faithful  reply  from  Paulus 
who  also  appeared  to  him  :  ' '  Not  so,  my  son,  unless  that 
God,  whose  temple  is  all  this  which  you  behold,  shall  free 
you  from  this  imprisonment  in  the  body  you  can  have  no 
admission  to  this  place :  for  men  have  been  created  under 
this  condition,  that  they  should  keep  that  globe  which  you 
see  in  the  middle  of  this  temple,  and  which  is  called  the 
earth. 

''And  a  soul  has  been  suppHed  to  them  from  those 
supernal  fires  which  you  call  constellations  and  stars,  and 
which,  being  globular,  are  animated  with  divine  spirit,  and 
complete  their  cycles  and  revolutions  with  amazing 
rapidity.  Therefore  you,  my  Publius,  and  all  good  men 
must  preserve  your  souls  in  the  keeping  of  your  bodies, 
nor  without  the  order  of  that  Being  who  bestowed  them 
upon  you,  are  you  to  depart  from  mundane  life,  lest  you 
seem  to  desert  the  duty  of  a  man  which  has  been  assigned 
to  you  by  God." 

After  this  exordium  against  suicide,  much  good  doctrine 
was  given  by  the  father  to  the  son,  and  as  the  spirits 
vanished,  Scipio  awoke  from  sleep.  We  have  in  this  fine 
old  testimony  only  one  out  of  many  striking  narrations 
proving  how  distinguished  men  in  all  ages  have  enjoyed 
spiritual  enlightenment  while  asleep,  and  what  has  oc- 
curred in  days  of  old  is  occurring  now  also,  and  can  and 
will  continue  to  occur  whenever  opportunity  is  given  for 
its  occurrence. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

SPIRITUAL  MEDIUMSHIP— REASONABLE  VIEWS 
OF   MEDIUMSHIP  CONTRASTED  WITH  POP- 
ULAR   FALLACIES  CONCERNING  IT 

Many  readers  of  current  literature  dealing  with  psychic 
questions  in  general  must  be  very  much  confused  on  ac- 
count of  the  bewilderingly  divergent  views  expressed  by 
different  writers  who  attempt  to  deal  with  the  intricate 
question  of  human  sensitiveness  by  recourse  to  a  single 
strained  hypothesis.  These  discording  hypotheses  of 
different  theorists  are  often  gravely  set  forth  as  final  and 
authoritative,  in  consequence  whereof  many  superficial 
readers,  who  are  easily  captivated  by  pretentious  claims, 
commit  themselves  without  any  first-hand  investigation  to 
whatever  theory  is  set  forth  by  some  author  whose  opinions 
they  chance  to  favor.  Since  the  publication  of  Hudson's 
''Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena"  a  number  of  writers  and 
lecturers  have  arisen  who  on  the  basis  of  Hudson's  famous 
theory  of  "  Two  minds  "  have  undertaken  to  explain  away 
all  spiritualistic  evidences  by  calling  upon  the  ''subjective 
mind"  to  account  for  everything  that  could  not  be  ex- 
plained by  trickery.  Given  a  theory  which  admits  of  no 
limitation,  and  a  resolute  determination  to  explain  every- 
thing by  means  of  it,  the  way  is  at  once  clear  for  the 
demolition  of  every  evidence  which  may  be  in  conflict 
with  it.  Hudson  has  written  many  good  things  and  his 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  modern  psychology  is  de- 
cidedly valuable,  but  his  views  on  Spiritualism  often  border 

261 


262  Universal  Spiritualism . 

upon  the  absurd  and  they  are  certainly  not  endorsed  by 
any  truly  scientific  men  who  have  conducted  independent 
investigations.  Hudson's  most  ridiculous  conclusions, 
which  are  certainly  not  warranted  by  his  original  prem- 
ises, are  endorsed  by  Henry  Frank  and  many  other  popular 
speakers  who  make  statements  with  great  enthusiasm  in 
public  addresses  and  through  the  press  which  when  sub- 
mitted to  impartial  examination  are  found  to  be  so  utterly 
one-sided  as  to  possess  very  little  if  any,  philosophic  value. 
Suppose  we  now  accept  as  true  the  hypothesis  of  a  dual 
mind,  which  is  by  no  means  unreasonable,  even  if  we  use 
Hudson's  terminology  and  insist  upon  ''objective"  and 
''subjective  "  as  terms  to  be  universally  employed,  there  is 
still  no  solid  ground  whatever  for  denying  spirit-com- 
munion or  for  speaking  adversely  concerning  mediumship. 
Hudson's  second  popular  book  in  his  series  of  five,  is  en- 
tided  "A  Scientific  Demonstration  of  the  Future  Life." 
In  that  volume  he  has  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  "  sub- 
jective mind  "  is  the  seat  of  the  telepathic  faculty  and  that 
1  its  chief  field  of  functioning  is  in  the  life  beyond  death. 
Accepting  this  statement  at  its  full  value  it  can  lend  no 
support  to  any  denial  of  spirit-communion  for  no  author 
has  vouched  for  the  facts  of  telepathy  more  valiantly  than 
Hudson.  Granting  that  two  "subjective  minds"  are  so 
en  rapport  that  one  can  communicate  intelHgibly  with  the 
other  while  both  are  still  associated  with  "objective 
minds  "  prior  to  physical  dissolution,  there  is  no  reason 
for  supposing  that  the  same  "subjective"  communion 
cannot  continue  after  the  "  objective  mind  "  in  the  case  of 
one  of  the  communicating  parties  has  passed  away  with  the 
demise  of  the  physical  body. 

Though  the  word  "mediumship"  is  placed  under  the 


Spiritual  Mediumship  263 

ban  and  treated  by  many  authors  who  indulge  in  sweeping 
assertions  as  allied  with  insanity  and  all  manner  of  path- 
ological and  even  criminal  conditions,  a  sane  consideration 
of  its  true  nature  and  real  import  will  enable  every  rational 
student  of  psychology  to  discriminate  without  much  diffi- 
culty between  healthy  and  unhealthy  symptoms.  We  will 
admit  that  highly  sensitive  persons  are  usually  of  high- 
strung  nervous  temperament  and  if  subjected  to  unpleasant 
and  unwholesome  surroundings  they  are  apt  to  be  afflicted 
with  distempers  common  to  their  type,  but  such  an  ad- 
mission only  counsels  to  caution,  it  never  logically  leads  to 
condemnation  of  mediumship  in  its  entirety.  If  we  can  sift 
out  the  kernels  of  wheat  from  the  mass  of  chaff  and  eliminate 
the  wholesome  grain  from  the  enormous  growth  of  tare  or 
cockel  which  we  find  in  such  books  as  **  The  Great  Psycho- 
logical Crime,"  which  Henry  Frank  pronounced  authori- 
tative (^Banner  of  Lights  Boston,  January  13,  1906)  we 
shall  find  that  the  basis  of  all  outcry  against  mediumship 
is  that  it  exposes  the  medium  to  control  and  coercion  from 
an  unseen,  and  often  from  an  unknown  source,  and  that 
such  submission  of  one  will  to  another  is  detrimental  to 
health  and  character.  ^That  there  is  some  degree  of  reason 
in  such  a  statement  no  reasonable  person  will  deny,  but 
we  are  prepared  to  entirely  refute  the  insinuation  that 
, mediumship  is  necessarily  anything  other  than  a  voluntary 
(sensitiveness  enabling  two  or  more  friends  to  enjoy  com - 
'  munion  with  each  other.  Accepting  the  phenomena  of 
telepathy  as  legitimate,  and  neither  Hudson  nor  his  fol- 
lowers ever  seem  to  condemn  it,  it  logically  follows  that 
simple  mediumship  involves  no  more  than  the  practice  of 
telepathy  extended  into  the  post-mortem  state  which,  if 
Hudson's  theory  be  correct,  is  only  the  survival  of  a  func- 


264  Universal  Spiritualism 

tion  of  the  ''subjective  mind"  which  is  always  involved 
in  every  telepathic  transaction.  It  seems  impossible  for 
some  people  to  get  anything  like  a  clear  idea  of  what  the 
so-called  "next"  or  ''future"  state  of  man  can  be,  and 
because  a  crude  theory  is  invented,  which  has  no  founda- 
tion in  fact  or  reason,  that  some  marvelous  and  inconceiv- 
able change  occurs  at  the  instant  of  physical  transition,  we 
are  either  told  that  it  is  extremely  dangerous  or  positively 
wrong  to  commune  with  our  friends  who  have  left  their 
earthly  bodies  or  else  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  do  so. 
Neither  F.  W.  H.  Myers  in  his  monumental  work  "  Human 
Personality,  its  Survival  of  Bodily  Death,"  Minot  J.  Savage 
in  his  "Life  Beyond  Death"  and  "  Can  Telepathy  Ex- 
plain ?  "  or  Professor  Hyslop  in  his  "  Science  and  a  Future 
Life"  have  fallen  into  any  such  error,  and  we  advise  a 
careful  perusal  of  the  books  mentioned  on  the  part  of  all 
who  desire  to  read  the  sober  utterances  of  unprejudiced 
men  of  high  intellectual  ability  who  have  not  allowed 
prejudice  to  warp  their  judgment.  That  a  word  of  caution 
should  be  given  to  excitable  and  unreflecting  dabblers  in 
psychic  experimentation  we  fully  admit,  but  words  of 
caution  need  to  be  cautiously  uttered  and  they  must  be 
voiced  without  prejudice  if  they  are  to  prove  salutary. 
Mediumship  intelligently  viewed  presents  two  distant  phases 
or  aspects  which  are,  in  a  sense,  diametrically  opposed,  and 
we  suppose  it  must  be  with  only  one  of  these  that  opponents 
of  mediumship  are  acquainted.  The  objectionable  or  un- 
desirable aspect  of  the  question  borders  upon  what 
Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles  and  many  other  influential  Spiritualists 
designate  "obsession,"  which  means  that  one  mind  is  so 
far  under  the  dominion  of  another,  and  that  other  a  very 
crude  or  distorted  one,  that  individual  mental  liberty  is 


Spiritual  Mediumship  265 

impossible  until  the  ''obsessing"  influence  has  been  re- 
moved. Miscellaneous  public  circles,  in  which  people 
gather  with  all  sorts  of  mixed  motives  and  all  varieties  of 
moral,  mental,  and  physical  conditions,  are  sources  of 
grave  danger  to  highly  sensitive  people  who  are  of  weak 
and  yielding  disposition  and  have  not  developed  around 
them  a  protective  aura.  We  can  also  conscientiously  in- 
veigh against  all  attempts  to  exercise  any  psychic  gift  or 
faculty  for  any  other  than  a  noble  purpose,  and  were  con- 
demnations of  mediumship  or  mediumistic  practices 
directed  solely  against  pernicious  customs  we  should 
heartily  endorse  even  an  anathema  directed  against  per- 
versions. But  we  must  not  permit  ourselves  to  confound 
the  innocent  with  the  vicious,  or  the  helpful  with  the  harm- 
ful, though  that  is  exactly  what  is  done  by  sensational  de- 
claimers  against  mediumship  at  large.  Very  much  good 
is  often  accomplished  through  clairvoyance  and  very  much 
more  good  by  means  of  clairsentience,  and  oftentimes  aspirit- 
message  conveyed  through  an  entranced  medium  brings 
comfort  to  the  sorrow-stricken  and  needed  instruction  to 
the  perplexed.  Home  circles  properly  conducted  in  a  pure 
atmosphere  and  where  aspirations  are  noble  are  productive 
of  excellent  results,  and  it  is  abundantly  shown  that  me- 
diumship exercised  in  such  surroundings  conduces  to 
enlarged  health  and  increased  mental  and  ethical  develop- 
ment. The  claim  has  been  made  that  Indian  spirits  always 
manifest  themselves  during  early  stages  of  mediumistic  de- 
velopment and  that  this  is  an  evidence  that  the  ''sub- 
jective mind"  is  remanifesting  some  ancestral  states,  the 
remains  of  which  are  contained  with  it,  and  it  is  further 
said  that  this  proves  retrogression  or  reversion  to  some 
primitive   condition.     In  reply  to  that  stupid  and  almost 


266  Universal  Spiritualism 

foundationless  allegation  we  have  but  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  nowhere  except  in  America  do  Indian  spirits 
usually  manifest,  unless  some  American  medium  travels  to 
another  country  and  introduces  her  unseen  escorts  to  a 
foreign  audience,  and  further  let  it  be  remembered  that  a 
very  large  percentage  of  people  of  American  birth  are  not 
descended  from  North  American  Indians  any  more  than 
are  natives  of  European  countries  who  rarely,  if  ever,  un- 
earth Indian  spirits  from  their  subconsciousness  during 
incipient  stages  of  mediumistic  development.  Whence  then 
the  proof  of  Atavism  ?  The  real  distinction  which  should 
always  be  emphasized  between  a  sort  of  sensitiveness  which 
may  be  a  kind  of  relic  of  the  past,  and  a  totally  different 
variety  which  foreglimmers  a  higher  condition  for  the  future, 
is  that  the  former  is  always  involuntary  or  sub-volitional, 
though  not  invariably  harmful,  while  the  latter  is  always 
voluntary  or  volitional.  Sensitiveness  needs  to  be  regu- 
lated and  controlled,  we  should  never  permit  ourselves  to 
be  governed  by  it.  It  is  high  time  that  intelligent  Spir- 
ituaHsts  take  a  firm  stand  on  this  question,  and  in  view  of 
the  immense  amount  of  controversy  still  waging  around  the 
pros  and  cons  of  mediumships  it  ought  to  be  feasible  to 
publish  some  moderately  tempered  manual  setting  forth 
what  is  and  what  is  not  desirable  along  the  path  of  me- 
diumship  and  its  development.  It  seems  difficult  to  reach 
a  happy  middle  path  between  two  extremes,  as  most  peo- 
ple are  influenced  by  emotion  rather  than  by  logic,  the 
work  however  needs  to  be  done  and  we  must  bring  to  the 
task  of  doing  it  no  other  spirit  than  that  of  utterly  im- 
partial open-mindedness.  Wherever  we  witness  signs  of 
disease  and  degeneracy  accompanying  the  exercise  of 
mediumship  we  should  search  fearlessly  for  the  cause^  but 


Spiritual  Mediumship  267 

not  blindly  fling  a  sweeping  accusation  against  medium- 
ship  in  its  simplicity  or  entirety  because  certain  aberrant 
accompaniments  are  sometimes  found  attending  it. 

Had  we,  as  a  people  at  large,  less  disposition  to  yield  to 
fashions  and  submit  to  customs  and  conventionalities,  no 
matter  how  foolish  or  haruiful  such  may  be,  we  should  soon 
behold  a  soul-cheering  diminution  of  those  abnormalities 
which  do  indeed  sometimes  accompany  mediumship,  but 
are  in  no  true  sense  its  legitimate  or  necessary  offspring. 
Control  or  coercion  may  well  be  warned  against,  but  willing 
susceptibility  to  communion  with  spirit  friends  and  helpers 
is  no  sign  of  degeneracy  and  constitutes  no  step  in  the  direc- 
tion of  insanity.  Though  notes  of  reasonable  warning  need 
often  to  be  raised,  warnings  must  be  directed  against  abuses 
only ;  they  are  senseless  and  must  ever  miss  their  mark 
when  they  take  the  form  of  wholesale  denunciation. 
Mediumship  is  good,  only  its  abuse  is  evil.  To  the  im- 
partial student  of  the  literature  of  modern  Spiritualism, 
which  began  to  accumulate  almost  immediately  the 
"Rochester  Knockings  "  created  a  world-wide  sensation 
in  1845,  it  must  appear  that  never  in  any  previous  period 
of  this  planet's  history  has  there  been  fuller  evidence 
established  than  was  collected  and  authenticated  during 
the  nineteenth  century  to  convince,  even  the  most  sceptical 
among  enquirers,  that  physical  dissolution  is  not  the  end 
of  our  conscious  individuahty. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  SPIRIT  WORLD— AS  SEEN  AND  DESCRIBED 
BY  ONE  WHO  HAS  VISITED  IT  FREQUENTLY 

Charles  W.  Leadbeater  serves  a  highly  valuable  pur- 
pose as  a  teacher  and  illustrator  of  spiritual  philosophy, 
finding  much  in  common  between  Spiritualism  and  The- 
osophy  when  both  are  rightly  understood.  We  have  in- 
troduced this  record  of  wonderful  clairvoyance  between 
chapters  devoted  to  our  own  statements  on  these  and 
similar  great  questions  to  give  to  our  readers  independent 
testimony  which  agrees  very  substantially  with  the  views 
of  the  author  based  on  closely  similar  experiences. 

The  following  truly  remarkable  statements  are  taken 
(slightly  condensed)  from  articles  published  in  Chicago 
during  February,  1906,  first  in  the  Tribune,  then  in  the 
Progressive  Thinker.  We  take  particular  pleasure  in  pre- 
senting these  extracts  to  our  readers  because  they  serve  to 
vividly  illustrate  the  kind  of  visions  of  the  spirit  world 
which  modern  seers  are  frequently  beholding. 

"  In  my  visions  and  dreams  the  bright  jasper  walls  I 
can  see,"  sang  the  poet  of ''The  Home  of  the  Soul." 
But  C.  W.  Leadbeater,  in  full  waking  consciousness,  sees 
all  that  eye  hath  not  seen  or  ear  hath  heard  on  earth  of  the 
glories  of  the  heaven  world.  He  has  seen  and  known  the 
seventh  heaven.     And  what  he  has  done  he  says  all  can  do. 

It  is  only  our  lack  of  development,  affirms  Mr.  Lead- 
beater, only  the  limitation  imposed  upon  us  by  this  robe 

268 


The  Spirit  World  269 

of  flesh,  that  prevents  us  from  fully  realizing  that  all  the 
glory  of  the  highest  heaven  is  about  us  here  and  now,  and 
that  influences  flowing  from  that  world  are  ever  playing 
upon  us  if  we  only  will  understand  and  receive  them. 
*'Do  not  complain  and  cry,"  said  a  great  teacher  of  old, 
"but  open  your  eyes  and  see.  The  light  is  all  about  you, 
if  you  would  only  cast  the  bandage  from  your  eyes  and 
look.  It  is  so  wonderful,  so  beautiful,  so  far  beyond 
what  any  man  has  dreamed  of  or  prayed  for,  and  it  is  for- 
ever and  forever." 

Mr.  Leadbeater,  as  a  trained  Occultist,  has  cultivated 
his  higher  senses,  his  occult  faculties,  whereby  are  visible 
to  him  the  heavenly  spiritual  regions  which  are  shut  out 
to  carnal  eyes.  These  heavenly  regions  are  worlds  of 
subtler  substance  than  the  physical  world,  interpenetrating 
it,  and  therefore  all  about  us.  Heaven  is  the  world  of 
thought,  the  mental  plane,  as  Occultists  term  it,  supremely 
a  state  of  consciousness,  the  "  kingdom  of  heaven  "  being 
"within  you."  The  astral  plane  is  the  world  of  feeling; 
the  physical  plane,  the  familiar  earth  of  the  senses,  is  the 
world  of  action.  The  body  of  action  is  the  physical  body, 
the  body  of  emotion  is  the  astral  body,  the  body  of  thought 
is  the  mental  body.  The  immortal  soul,  which  lives  for- 
ever, in  the  heaven  world,  communicates  with  the  physical 
world  by  means  of  physical  impacts  transmitted  to  the 
physical  brain,  thence  to  the  astral,  and  thence  to  the 
mental  body.     The  soul  is  the  immortal  thinker  and  ego. 

Scientific  Occultism  trains  the  faculties  of  the  higher 
bodies  which  enable  us  to  see  these  heavenly  regions  lying 
all  about  us.  It  was  thus  that  Mr.  Leadbeater  learned  to 
journey  up  througli  the  seven  heavens.  A  radiant  sense 
not  only  of  the  welcome  absence  of  all  evil  and  discord 


270  Universal  Spiritualism 

but  of  the  insistent,  overwhelming  presence  of  universal 
joy  is  the  first  and  most  striking  sensation  experienced  by 
him  who  enters  upon  the  heavenly  world,  reports  the  visitor. 
And  it  never  leaves  him  so  long  as  he  remains  there,  and 
the  man  who  has  once  experienced  it  in  full  consciousness 
will  regard  the  world  with  widely  different  eyes  forever 
after. 

Let  a  man  imagine  himself  with  these  feelings  of  intense 
bliss  and  enormously  increased  power  floating  in  a  sea  of 
living  light,  surrounded  by  every  conceivable  variety  of 
loveliness  in  color  and  form — the  whole  changing  with 
every  wave  of  thought  that  he  sends  out  from  the  mind, 
and  being  as  he  presently  discovers,  only  the  expression  of 
his  thought  in  the  matter  of  the  plane  and  in  its  elemental 
essence.  For  that  matter  is  of  the  same  order  as  that  of 
which  the  mind-body  itself  is  composed,  and  therefore 
when  that  vibration  of  the  particles  of  the  mind-body 
which  we  call  a  thought  occurs,  it  extends  itself  immedi- 
ately to  this  surrounding  mental  matter  and  sets  up  corre- 
sponding vibrations  in  it,  while  in  the  elemental  essence  it 
images  itself  with  absolute  exactitude.  Concrete  thought 
naturally  takes  the  shape  of  its  objects,  while  abstract  ideas 
usually  represent  themselves  by  all  kinds  of  perfect  and 
geometrical  forms. 

If  the  visitor  wishes  to  observe  the  plane  upon  which  he 
finds  himself  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  carefully  to 
suspend  his  thought  for  the  time,  so  that  its  creations  may 
not  influence  the  readily  impressible  matter  around  him  and 
thus  alter  the  entire  conditions  so  far  as  he  is  concerned. 
He  begins  to  realize  that  all  this  magnificence  is  not  a  mere 
idle  or  fortuitous  display ;  he  finds  that  it  all  has  a  mean- 
ing ;   a  meaning  which  he  himself  can   understand ;  and 


The  Spirit  World  271 

presently  he  grasps  the  fact  that  what  he  is  watching  with 
such  ecstasy  of  delight  is  simply  the  glorious  color  language 
of  the  angels — the  expression  of  the  thought  or  the  conver- 
sation of  beings  far  higher  than  himself  in  the  scale  of  ev- 
olution. 

/  By  experiment  and  practice  he  discovers  that  he  also 
can  use  this  new  and  beautiful  mode  of  expression,  and  by 
this  discovery  he  enters  into  possession  of  another  great 
tract  of  his  heritage  in  this  celestial  realm — the  power  to 
hold  converse  with  and  to  learn  from  its  loftier  inhabit- 
ants. 

If  the  visitor  wishes  to  carry  his  analysis  of  the  plane  still 
further  and  discover  what  it  would  be  when  entirely  undis- 
turbed by  the  thought  or  conversation  of  any  of  its  in- 
habitants, he  can  do  so  by  forming  round  himself  a  huge 
shell,  through  which  none  of  these  influences  can  penetrate, 
and  then,  holding  his  own  mind  perfectly  still,  examining 
the  conditions  which  exist  inside  his  shell.  He  is  now  able 
to  perceive  another  and  entirely  different  series  of  regular 
pulsations. 

These  evidently  are  universal.  They  cause  no  change  of 
color,  no  assumption  of  form,  but  flow  with  resistless  regu- 
larity through  all  the  matter  of  the  plane,  outward  and  in 
again,  like  the  exhalations  and  inhalations  of  some  great 
breath  beyond  our  ken. 

There  are  several  sets  of  these,  clearly  distinguishable 
from  one  another  by  volume,  by  period  of  vibration,  and 
by  the  tone  of  harmony  which  they  bring,  and  grander  than 
them  all  sweeps  one  great  wave  which  seems  the  heart-beat 
of  the  system,  a  wave  which,  welling  up  from  unknown 
centres  on  far  higher  planes,  pours  out  its  life  through  all  our 
world,  and  then  draws  back  in  its  tremendous  tide  to  that 


272  Universal  Spiritualism 

from  which  it  came.  In  one  long,  undulating  curve  it 
comes,  and  the  sound  of  it  is  like  the  murmur  of  the  sea  ; 
and  yet  in  it  and  through  it  all  the  while  there  echoes  a 
mighty  ringing  chant  of  triumph,  the  music  of  the  spheres. 
The  man  who  once  has  heard  that  glorious  song  of  nature 
never  quite  loses  it  again  ;  even  here  on  this  dreary  physical 
plane  of  illusion  he  hears  it  always  as  a  kind  of  undertone, 
keeping  ever  before  his  mind  the  strength  and  light  and 
splendor  of  the  real  life  above. 

The  sense  itself  by  which  he  is  able  to  cognize  all  this  is 
not  the  least  of  the  marvels  of  this  celestial  world;  no 
longer  does  he  hear  and  see  and  feel  by  separate  and 
limited  organs,  as  he  does  down  here ;  instead  of  these  he 
feels  within  him  a  new,  strange  power,  which  is  not  any  of 
them  and  yet  includes  them  all  and  much  more — a  power 
which  enables  him  the  moment  any  person  or  thing  comes 
before  him  not  only  to  see  it  and  feel  it  and  hear  it  but  to 
know  all  about  it  instantly  inside  and  out,  its  causes,  its 
effects,  and  its  possibilities.  He  finds  that  for  him  to  think 
is  to  realize  ;  there  is  never  any  doubt,  hesitation,  or  delay 
about  this  direct  action  of  the  higher  sense.  [If  he  thinks 
of  a  place,  he  is  there ;  if  of  a  friend,  that  friend  is  before 
him.  Every  thought  and  feeling  of  his  friend  lies  open  as 
a  book  before  him.  All  knowledge  is  his  for  the  searching 
— all  that  does  not  transcend  even  this  lofty  plane ;  the  past 
of  the  world  is  as  open  to  him  as  the  present ;  the  indelible 
records  of  the  memory  of  nature  are  ever  at  his  disposal, 
and  history,  whether  ancient  or  modern,  unfolds  itself  be- 
fore his  eyes  at  will. 

Not  only  can  he  review  at  leisure  all  history  with  which 
we  are  acquainted,  correcting,  as  he  examines  it,  the  many 
errors  and  misconceptions  which  have  crept  into  the  ac- 


The  Spirit  World  273 

counts  handed  down  to  us ;  he  also  can  range  at  will  over 
the  whole  story  of  the  world  from  its  beginning,  watching 
the  slow  development  of  intellect.  Nor  is  his  study  con- 
fined to  the  progress  of  humanity  alone  ;  he  has  before  him 
as  in  a  museum  all  the  strange  animal  and  vegetable  forms 
which  occupied  the  stage  in  days  when  the  world  was 
young ;  he  can  follow  all  the  geological  changes  which 
have  taken  place,  and  watch  the  course  of  the  great  cata- 
clysms which  have  altered  the  face  of  the  earth  again  and 
again. 

The  lowest  heaven  has  for  its  principal  characteristic,  af- 
fection for  family  or  friends,  unselfish  but  usually  some- 
what narrow.  One  of  the  first  persons  Mr.  Lead  beater  en- 
countered in  heaven  was  a  mother  who  had  died  about 
twenty  years  ago  and  left  behind  her  two  sons,  to  whom 
she  was  deeply  attached.  Naturally  they  were  the  most 
prominent  figures  in  her  heaven,  and  quite  naturally,  too, 
she  thought  of  them  as  she  had  left  them.  ■  The  love 
which  she  thus  poured  out  ceaselessly  upon  these  mental 
images  was  thus  really  acting  as  a  beneficent  force 
showered  down  upon  the  grown  up  men  in  this  physical 
world. 

Along  these  lines  only  is  conscious  communication  pos- 
sible between  those  still  imprisoned  in  the  physical  body 
and  those  who  have  passed  into  this  celestial  realm.  A 
soul  may  be  shining  out  gloriously  through  his  image  in  a 
friend's  heaven  life,  and  yet  in  his  manifestations  through 
the  physical  body  on  earth  that  friend  may  be  entirely  un- 
conscious of  all  this,  and  so  may  suppose  himself  unable 
to  communicate  with  his  departed  friend.  But  if  that  soul 
has  evolved  consciousness  to  the  point  of  unification  and 
can  therefore  use  his  full  powers  while  still  in  the  physical 


274  Universal  Spiritualism 

body,  he  can  then  realize  even  during  this  dull  earthly  life 
that  he  still  stands  face  to  face  with  his  friend  as  of  yore, 
that  death  has  not  removed  the  man  he  loved,  but  only 
opened  his  eyes  to  the  grander,  wider  life  which  ever  lies 
around  us  all.  In  appearance  the  friend  would  seem  much 
as  he  did  in  earth  life,  yet  somehow  strangely  glorified. 
There  is  a  reproduction  of  the  physical  body. 

The  dominant  characteristic  of  the  second  heaven  may 
be  said  to  be  anthropomorphic  religious  devotion.  This 
phase  of  devotion  which  consists  essentially  in  the  perpet- 
ual adoration  of  a  personal  deity  must  be  carefully  distin- 
guished from  those  higher  forms  which  find  their  expres- 
sion in  performing  some  definite  work  for  the  deity's  sake. 
Some  of  the  most  characteristic  examples  of  this  plane  are 
to  be  found  among  women,  who  indeed  form  a  large 
majority  of  its  inhabitants.  A  quaint  and  pretty  example 
of  the  heaven  life  of  a  child,  aged  seven,  showed  him  oc- 
cupied in  reenacting  in  the  heaven  world  the  religious 
stories  which  his  Irish  nurse  had  told  him  down  here,  and, 
best  of  all,  he  loved  to  think  of  himself  as  playing  with  the 
infant  Jesus,  helping  him  to  make  those  clay  sparrows  which 
the  power  of  the  Christ-child  is  fabled  to  have  brought  to 
life  and  caused  to  fly. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  third  heaven  may  be  de- 
fined as  devotion,  expressing  itself  in  active  work.  The 
Christian  on  this  plane,  for  example,  instead  of  merely 
adoring  his  Saviour,  would  think  of  himself  as  going  out 
into  the  world  to  work  for  him.  It  is  especially  the  plane 
for  the  working  out  of  great  schemes  and  designs  un- 
realized on  earth — of  great  organizations  inspired  by  re- 
ligious devotion  and  usually  having  for  their  purpose 
.some    philanthropic    object.      On   this    plane    the   higher 


The  Spirit  World  275 

type  of  sincere  and  devoted  missionary  activity  finds  ex- 
pression. 

The  fourth  heaven  is  arranged  into  four  main  divisions 
— unselfish  pursuit  of  spiritual  knowledge ;  high  philo- 
sophic or  scientific  thought ;  literary  or  artistic  ability  exer- 
cised for  unselfish  purposes,  and  service  for  the  sake  of 
service.  We  find  here  many  of  those  noble  and  unselfish 
thinkers  who  seek  insight  and  knowledge  only  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enlightening  and  helping  their  fellows. 
/  Here  we  find  all  our  greatest  musicians ;  Mozart,  Bee- 
thoven, Bach,  Wagner,  and  many  others  are  still  flooding 
the  heaven  world  with  harmony  far  more  glorious  even 
than  the  grandest  which  they  were  able  to  produce  when 
on  earth.  It  seems  as  if  a  great  stream  of  divine  music 
poured  into  them  from  higher  regions  and  was  specialized 
by  them  and  made  their  own  to  be  sent  forth  through  all 
the  planes  in  a  great  tide  of  melody  which  adds  to  the  bliss 
of  all  around. 

V  Those  who  are  functioning  in  full  consciousness  in  the 
heaven  w^orld  will  clearly  hear  and  fully  appreciate  this 
magnificent  outpouring. 

Here  also  was  one  of  earth's  failures — for  the  tragedies 
of  earth-life  leave  strange  marks  even  in  heavenly  places. 
In  the  world  where  all  thoughts  of  loved  ones  smile  upon 
man  as  friends  he  was  thinking  of  writing  a  great  book 
and  for  the  sake  of  it  had  refused  to  use  his  literary  power 
in  making  mere  sustenance  from  paltry  hack  work ;  but 
none  would  look  at  his  book,  and  he  walked  the  streets  de- 
spairing, till  sorrow  and  starvation  closed  his  eyes  to  earth. 
He  had  been  lonely  all  his  life — in  his  youth  friendless  and 
shut  out  from  family  ties,  and  in  his  manhood  unable  to 
work  only  in  his  own  way,  pushing  aside  hands  that  would 


276  Universal  Spiritualism 

have  led  him  to  a  wider  view  of  life's  possibilities  than  the 
earthly  paradise  he  longed  to  make  for  all.  Now,  as  he 
thought  and  wrote,  though  there  were  none  whom  he  had 
loved  as  personal  or  ideal  helpers  who  could  make  part  of 
this,  his  mental  life,  he  saw  stretching  before  him  the 
Utopia  of  which  he  had  dreamed,  for  which  he  had  tried 
to  live,  and  the  vast  thronging  impersonal  multitudes  whom 
he  had  longed  to  serve ;  and  the  joy  of  their  joy  surged 
back  on  him  and  made  his  solitude  a  heaven.  When  he  is 
born  again  on  earth  he  surely  will  return  with  power  to 
achieve  as  well  as  to  plan,  and  this  celestial  vision  will  be 
partially  bodied  forth  in  happier  terrene  lives. 

Is  it  contended  that  in  heaven  we  make  our  own  sur- 
roundings and  for  that  reason  see  only  a  part  of  heaven  ? 
Surely  down  here  also  the  world  of  which  a  person  is  sen- 
sible is  never  the  whole  of  the  outer  world  but  only  so 
much  of  it  as  his  senses,  intellect,  education,  enable  him  to 
take  in.  What  does  he  know  as  a  rule  even  of  the  more 
recondite  physical  facts  which  surround  him  and  meet  him 
at  every  step  he  takes?  The  truth  is  that  here  as  in 
heaven  life  he  lives  in  a  world  which  is  largely  of  his  own 
creation.  He  does  not  realize  it  either  there  or  here,  but 
that  is  only  because  of  his  ignorance,  because  he  knows  no 
better. 

Is  it  said  that  in  the  heaven  world  a  man  takes  his 
thoughts  for  real  things  ?  He  is  quite  right ;  they  are  real 
things  and  on  the  thought  plane,  nothing  but  thought  can 
be  real.  There  we  recognize  that  great  fact ;  here  we  do 
not ;  on  which  plane,  then,  is  the  delusion  the  greater  ? 
Those  thoughts  of  his  are  indeed  realities,  and  are  capable 
of  producing  the  most  striking  results  upon  living  men — 
results  which  can  never  be  other  than  beneficial  because 


The  Spirit  World  277 

upon  that  high  plane  there  can  be  none  but  loving  thought. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  theory  that  the  heaven  life  is 
an  illusion  is  merely  the  result  of  a  misconception  and 
shows  imperfect  acquaintance  with  its  conditions  and  pos- 
sibilities ;  the  truth  is  that  the  higher  we  rise  the  nearer  we 
draw  to  the  one  reality. 

The  fifth  heaven  is  the  true  home  of  the  soul  and  by  far 
the  most  populous  of  all  the  heavens.  Here  are  present 
almost  all  the  60,000,000,000  souls  who  are  said  to  be  en- 
gaged in  the  present  human  evolution — all,  in  fact,  except 
the  comparatively  small  number  who,  by  their  purity  and 
knowledge,  are  able  to  pass  into  higher  heavens.  It  is  the 
true  home  of  the  souls  of  nearly  all  mankind,  and  here 
lives  the  soul  while  the  lower  mind  and  body  dwell  in  the 
coarser  physical  and  astral  worlds. 

Souls  connected  with  a  physical  body  are  distinguishable 
from  those  enjoying  the  disembodied  state  by  a  difference  in 
the  vibrations  set  up  on  the  surface  of  the  globes ;  it  is 
therefore  easy  on  this  plane  to  see  at  a  glance  whether  an 
individual  is  or  is  not  in  incarnation  at  the  time.  The  im- 
( mense  majority,  whether  in  or  out  of  the  body,  are  but 
/dreamily  semi-conscious ;  (those  who  are  fully  awake  are 
radiant  exceptions  standing  out  amid  the  less  briUiant 
crowds  like  stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  and  between  these 
and  the  least  developed  are  ranged  every  variety  of  size 
and  beauty  of  color,  each  representing  the  exact  stage  of 
evolution  at  which  he  has  arrived. 

^  Passing  from  the  fifth  to  the  sixth  heaven  is  like  going 
from  a  great  city  to  a  peaceful  countryside ;  for  at  the  pres- 
ent stage  of  evolution  only  a  small  minority  of  individuals 
have  risen  to  this  loftier  level,  where  even  the  least  ad- 
vanced is  definitely  self-conscious  and  also  conscious  of  his 


278  Universal  Spiritualism 

surroundings.  The  soul  on  this  level  is  aware  of  the  pur- 
pose and  method  of  evolution ;  he  knows  that  he  is  en- 
gaged in  a  work  of  self-development,  and  recognizes  the 
stages  of  physical  and  post-mortem  life  through  which  he 
passes  in  his  lower  vehicles.  The  personality  with  which 
he  is  connected  is  seen  as  a  part  of  himself,  and  he  en- 
deavors to  guide  it,  using  his  knowledge  of  the  past  as  a 
storehouse  of  experience  from  which  he  formulates  princi- 
ples of  conduct,  clear  and  immutable  convictions  of  right 
and  wrong.  These  he  sends  down  into  his  lower  mind, 
superintending  and  guiding  its  activities. 

The  seventh  heaven,  the  most  glorious  level  of  the  men- 
tal world,  has  but  few  denizens  as  yet  from  our  humanity, 
for  on  its  heights  dwell  none  but  "  Masters  of  Compassion 
and  Wisdom  ' '  and  their  initiated  pupils.  Of  the  beauty  of 
form  and  color  and  sound  no  words  can  speak,  for  mortal 
language  has  no  terms  in  which  these  radiant  splendors  may 
find  expression.  Enough  that  they  are,  and  that  some  of 
our  race  are  wearing  them,  the  earnest  of  what  others  shall 
be,  the  fruition  of  which  the  seed  was  sown  on  lowlier 
planes. 

From  this  highest  heaven  come  down  most  of  the  in- 
fluences poured  out  by  the  Masters  of  Compassion  as  they 
work  for  the  evolution  of  the  human  race,  acting  directly 
on  the  souls  of  men,  shedding  on  them  inspiring  influences 
and  energies  which  stimulate  spiritual  growth,  which  en- 
lighten the  intellect,  and  purify  the  emotions.  Hence 
genius  receives  its  illuminations  ;  here  all  upward  efforts 
find  their  guidance. 

As  the  sun's  rays  fall  everywhere  from  one  centre  and 
each  body  that  receives  them  uses  them  after  its  nature,  so 
from  the  Elder  Brothers  of  the  race  fall  on  souls  the  light 


The  Spirit  World  279 

and  life  which  it  is  their  function  to  dispense,  and  each 
uses  as  much  as  it  can  assimilate  and  thereby  grows  and 
evolves.  Thus,  as  everywhere  else,  the  highest  glory  of 
the  heavenly  world  is  found  in  the  glory  of  service.  They 
who  have  accomplished  their  mental  evolution  are  foun- 
tains from  which  flow  strength  for  those  who  are  still  climb- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  XX 

TELEPATHY  AND  CLAIRVOYANCE 

There  are  few  thinkers  and  still  fewer  experimentalists 
in  the  field  of  psychical  research  who  are  ready  to  draw 
a  hard  and  fast  line  between  one  phase  of  psychical 
phenomena  and  another,  for  so  closely  interblended  are 
various  phases  of  psychical  activity  that  it  seems  practic- 
ally impossible  to  separate  them,  so  persistently  coex- 
istent even  through  distinct  are  they.  As  Telepathy 
means  feeling  at  a  distance,  and  Clairvoyance  means  clear 
sight,  we  may  not  incorrectly  add  that  one  of  the  principal 
meanings  of  Clairvoyance  is  seeing  at  a  distance,  a  dis- 
tance so  much  greater  than  ordinary  as  to  make  its  range 
of  vision  appear  decidedly  peculiar.  In  cases  of  simple 
Telepathy  the  general  inference  is  that  a  message  is 
distinctly  conveyed  from  one  place  to  another,  and  from 
one  person  to  another,  by  some  far  subtler  agent  than  is 
recognized  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  common  Hfe.  AVhen 
the  factor  of  Clairvoyance  enters,  the  phenomena  be- 
comes complicated,  demands  further  investigation  and 
presents  a  far  more  intricate  problem  for  solution.  It  is 
sufficiently  marvelous  for  most  people  to  be  told  that  a 
person,  a  thousand  or  more  miles  distant,  can  transmit  his 
thought  accurately,  causing  you  to  understand  his  mean- 
ing as  though  he  were  actually  by  your  side  physically  and 
conversing  with  you  face  to  face,  but  as  in  the  case  of  our 
own  experiences,  with  Lady  Caithness  and  others,  vision  as 
well  as  feeling,  and  mental  perception  have  to  be  taken 

280 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  281 

into  account.  Though  such  experiences  have  been 
designated  telepathic,  they  include  additional  evidence  in 
support  of  Clairvoyance.  G.  F.  C.  Grumbine  in  his 
book  entitled  ''Clairvoyance,"  includes  under  that  single 
heading  almost  all  that  we  are  accustomed  to  refer  to  as 
illumination,  insight,  intuition,  etc.  The  use  of  the  word 
''  Clairvoyance  "in  so  broad  a  sense  is  probably  no  viola- 
tion of  etymology,  as  clear  vision  is  certainly  the  bulwark 
of  every  seer  or  seeress,  and  those  titles  were  continually 
applied  to  prophets  and  prophetesses  in  days  of  old,  as  the 
Bible  abundantly  testifies.  The  chief  difficulty  en- 
countered in  any  endeavor  to  demonstrate  telepathic  com- 
munion is  the  obtuseness  of  many  people  to  psychic  im- 
pressions when  the  limitation  is  not  found  on  the  side  of 
the  would-be  transmitter  of  information  psychically. 
Concentration  of  thought  and  of  gaze  are  very  closely 
allied ;  the  former  is  the  great  essential  to  success  in 
Telepathy,  the  latter  is  equally  necessary  for  the  culture 
of  Clairvoyance. 

The  successful  telepathist  is  one  who  can  and  does 
definitely  fix  his  mind  on  one  object  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others ;  he  has  acquired  the  excellent  all-important  habit 
of  thinking  of  just  one  thing  at  a  time,  never  permitting 
two  thoughts  to  become  entangled.  The  seer  or  clairvoy- 
ant is  one  who  as  resolutely  gazes  upon  one  thing  at  a 
time,  never  allowing  his  vision  to  be  confused,  or  his 
attention  distracted,  no  matter  how  great  the  provocation 
or  temptation  to  eye-wandering  may  be.  Though  there 
certainly  are  authentic  instances  on  record  of  children 
whose  Clairvoyance  has  been  wonderful,  though  they 
have  undergone  no  training  whatever,  these  little  ones 
Seem  not  to  be  subject  to  the  need  of  those  mental  ex- 


282  Universal  Spiritualism 

ercises  which  the  majority  of  adults  find  necessary,  first 
to  get  them  out  of  bad  habits  and  then  to  get  them  into 
good  ones.  In  the  case  of  the  remarkable  children  we 
refer  to,  there  are  no  obstacles  to  be  overcome  and  they 
are  by  nature  of  a  quiet  contemplative  turn  of  mind  or 
else  so  extremely  alert  that  we  may  safely  decide  that  their 
extremely  transparent  mental  organization  furnishes  ex- 
actly the  instrument  needed  for  demonstrating  to  less 
enlightened  people  the  reality  of  a  spiritual  universe. 
Grown  people  are  for  the  most  part  anxious  and  fussy,  and 
to  the  extent  that  they  have  allowed  themselves  to  become 
apprehensive  or  careworn  they  have  unconsciously  built  a 
wall  or  barrier  around  them  psychically,  so  that  they  have 
become  opaque  or  obtuse  instead  of  transparent  or  diaph- 
anous as  to  their  auric  envelope.  Theosophists  dwell 
much  upon  auras  and  a  consideration  of  what  affects  the 
human  aura  is  always  an  important  study.  The  aura  of  a 
human  being  resembles  closely  the  atmosphere  of  a  planet. 
No  less  an  astronomer  than  Dorman  Steele  undertook  to 
suggest  an  interpretation  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis 
based  on  astronomical  considerations,  tending  to  the 
thought  that  the  work  of  the  fourth  creative  day — viewed 
from  the  terrestrial  or  geocentric  standpoint,  from  which 
the  author  of  the  Pentateuch  was  viewing  the  universe — 
had  no  reference  to  the  creation  of  the  sun  or  the  starry 
hosts,  but  only  to  the  clearing  of  the  earth's  atmosphere 
to  such  an  extent  that  during  the  fourth  great  geologic 
period  the  sun's  rays  began  to  penetrate  and  dissipate  the 
dense  fogs  and  vapors  which  had  long  encircled  this 
planet,  and  thus  the  star-bespangled  firmament  became 
visible  from  an  earthly  viewpoint.  Whether  any  of  us  are 
interested  or  not  in  the  essentially  historical  question  raised 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  283 

by  the  foregoing  opinion  on  a  much  disputed  document, 
the  illustration  serves  remarkably  well  to  enforce  a  true 
and  reasonable  view  of  how  the  clairvoyant  faculty  can  be 
developed  or,  we  may  say,  how  it  often  presents  itself  as 
already  actively  existent. 

The  auric  belt  or  zone  which  surrounds  an  individual  is 
dense  or  bright  in  proportion  to  the  mental  clearness  or 
fogginess  of  the  one  who  generates  the  aura.  People  who 
live  mentally  in  the  cellars  of  their  nature,  never  rising  in 
thought  above  the  contemplation  of  material  foibles  may 
develop  a  very  crude  sort  of  clairvoyance,  scarcely  worthy 
of  so  dignified  a  name,  but  the  higher  and  distinctly  en- 
nobling aspects  of  the  faculty  are  entirely  beyond  them, 
beyond  their  experience  because  far  above  their  interest. 
Clairvoyance  is  by  no  means  an  unmixed  blessing  though 
it  is  capable  of  being  so  used  as  to  prove  always  and  only 
an  advantage  to  its  possessor  and  to  all  who  are  privileged 
to  share  in  its  revelations.  The  wise  prophets  of  ancient 
Israel,  who  were  themselves  seers  of  the  highest  rank, 
knew  enough  of  Chaldean  and  Babylonian  psychism  to 
be  able  to  warn  the  people  to  whom  they  preached  against 
a  misdirected  agent,  which  because  of  misdirection  oc- 
casioned untold  and  inestimable  misery. 

Narrow,  prejudiced  commentators  are  very  apt  to  exercise 
no  discrimination  whatever  when  expounding  the  letter 
of  biblical  text,  but  thoughtful  unbiased  students  never 
fall  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  invectives  hurled  against 
witchcraft  and  necromancy  had  any  reference  to  simple 
and  profitable  Clairvoyance.  Every  great  and  accepted 
prophet  has  been  renowned  as  a  clairvoyant,  but  when 
unscrupulous  people  desecrated  a  noble  faculty,  not  only 
for  money,  but  to  serve  the  ends  of  malice,  there  arose  an 


284  Universal  Spiritualism 

outcry  against  the  very  gift  itself  which  had  been  thus 
prostituted.  It  was  nothing  but  shameless  sensuality,  often 
of  the  most  revolting  types,  which  drove  many  well-mean- 
ing teachers  to  proclaim  asceticism  as  the  highest  good  ; 
in  like  manner  abuse  of  psychic  endowments  has  led  to  a 
blind,  ignorant  terror-stricken  denunciation  of  those  noble 
and  beneficent  psychic  endowments  which  have  ever 
characterized  by  their  high  presence  the  greatest  moral 
teachers  of  our  race. 

Sir  Wm.  Crookes,  one  of  England's  most  illustrious 
scientific  men,  has  on  several  occasions  given  publicity  to 
his  theory  of  brain-waves  and  to  a  kindred  conception  of 
an  ether-substance,  along  which  intelligence  can  be  trans- 
mitted at  an  almost  incalculable  rate  of  speed  to  practically 
interminable  distances.  The  sensitive  man  or  animal  who 
can  feel  the  quivering  or  vibrating  of  this  ether  is 
"  mediumistic"  to  an  unusual  extent  in  the  estimation  of 
investigators  in  the  psychic  field  who  are  not  personally  so 
susceptible  to  impressions. 

Animal  worship  as  indulged  in  by  the  ancient  Egyptians 
and  many  other  historic  peoples  is  largely  to  be  explained 
on  the  basis  of  their  great  admiration  for  psychic  demon- 
strations and  their  wish  to  unfold  psychically  themselves. 
Witnessing  the  extraordinary  sensitiveness  of  dogs,  cats 
and  other  familiar  animals  they  supposed  these  creatures 
to  be  in  close  and  favored  communion  with  divinities  with 
whom  they  hoped  to  curry  favor  by  showing  honor  to  the 
animals  who  were  the  recipients  of  their  singular  esteem. 
It  is  well  worth  any  student's  while  to  read  such  portions 
of  the  Egyptian  Book  of  the  Dead  as  have  been  translated 
into  English  for  the  sake  of  understanding  the  probable 
origin  and  certain  animus  of  several  peculiar  religious  cults 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  285 

which  are  attracting  great  attention  now  that  the  world 
seems  on  the  lookout  for  a  new  religion,  and  while  search- 
ing for  an  acceptable  one  is  devoting  much  time  and 
thought  to  a  reexamination  of  the  oldest  as  well  as  the 
youngest  which  can  be  offered  for  contemplation.  A 
study  of  animal  life  is  always  entertaining  and  instruct- 
ive, and  as  in  some  directions  certain  animals  excel 
us  in  our  present  stage  of  development,  we  should  not  be 
too  proud  to  observe  our  four-footed  companions  with  a 
view  to  learning  all  they  are  able  to  suggest  to  us.  It  is 
noticeable  everywhere  that  those  animals  which  display 
the  most  remarkable  sagacity,  evince  ability  to  discover 
lost  children,  and  render  other  services  of  priceless  value, 
are  very  thorough  in  all  they  undertake  and  enter  into 
whatever  they  do  with  zest  and  earnestness.  They  take  a 
great  interest  in  life;  they  are  thoroughly  on  the  alert 
when  anything  is  going  on  which  in  any  way  interests 
them,  and  at  the  same  time  they  are  fond  of  periodic  ease 
and  can  be  just  as  lazy  when  they  are  resting  as  they  are 
active  when  engaged  in  some  pursuit.  An  excellent  rule 
for  everybody  is  :  Do  whatever  you  do  with  all  your 
heart ;  throw  yourself  unreservedly  into  all  your  under- 
takings one  after  the  other  ;  make  yourselves  completely 
at  home,  wherever  you  may  be  at  present.  When  you  eat 
enjoy  your  food  thoroughly,  cultivate  a  due  appreciation 
of  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  give  the  organ  of  alimentive- 
ness  an  opportunity  to  expand  normally ;  then  when  a 
meal  is  over  go  to  your  business  or  study,  whatever  that 
may  be,  and  throw  your  whole  energy  and  interest  into 
the  work  in  which  you  are  then  engaging.  AVhen  you  re- 
tire for  the  night,  give  yourself  up  wholly  to  sleep ;  ap- 
preciate the  boon  of  slumber,  never  permit  yourself  to 


286  Universal  Spiritualism 

think  contemptuously  of  repose  or  wish  it  were  un- 
necessary. Such  brief,  concise  directions  as  the  foregoing 
must  be  mastered  and  lived  up  to  before  any  one  is  found 
ready  to  normally  or  healthfully  pursue  the  path  of 
psychical  ascension  into  the  upper  realms  where  Clairvoy- 
ance is  as  normal  as  our  ordinary  lesser  sight,  common  to 
every-day  people,  is  normal  on  its  lower  plane  of  expres- 
sion. Saul  was  sent  to  seek  his  father's  asses  which  had 
strayed  ;  Samuel  set  Saul's  mind  at  rest,  through  Clairvoy- 
ance, concerning  the  asses  and  then  immediately  proceeded 
to  unfold  matters  of  immeasurably  higher  moment  than 
the  whereabouts  of  a  few  donkeys.  Clairvoyance  includes 
the  lower  as  it  rises  to  embrace  the  higher.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  public  professional  clairvoyants  are  generally  ac- 
curate in  their  visions,  not  because  they  are  other  than 
honest  men  and  women,  but  by  reason  of  the  impossibility 
of  complying  with  necessary  conditions  in  the  surround- 
ings in  which  most  of  them  live  and  work.  There  may  be 
a  few  people  in  every  community  who  have  arrived  so 
near  to  the  stage  of  adepts  that  they  can  afford  to  snap 
their  fingers  at  such  conditions  as  most  sensitives  find 
necessary  for  the  exercise  of  their  gift,  and  should  we 
encounter  one  of  these  exceptionally  developed  people  we 
should  no  doubt  be  greatly  astonished  at  the  revelation 
made  to  us  in  a  surrounding  apparently  incompatible  with 
the  exercise  of  lucidity.  When,  however,  the  clairvoyant 
is  only  a  tyro  it  is  highly  essential  that  the  mental  as  well 
as  the  physical  atmosphere  during  a  '*  sitting  "  should  be 
held  as  quiet  as  possible.  Mental  pictures  are  often 
projected  on  the  screen  of  ether  which  we  ordinarily  speak 
of  simply  as  the  air  of  the  room.  The  atmosphere  is  like 
the  screen  at  a  stereopticon  exhibition  and  must  be  held 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  287 

steady  if  the  pictures  displayed  upon  it  are  to  appear  with 
sufficient  distinctness  to  make  the  exhibition  a  success. 
Crystal-gazing,  or  even  looking  quietly  into  a  glass  of  clear 
water,  is  an  introductory  help  to  many  embryo  sensitives. 
Any  practice,  indeed,  which  serves  to  induce  comfortable 
passivity  of  mind  and  body  is  favorable  to  the  display  of 
Clairvoyance,  but  by  passivity  we  do  not  mean  what  a 
great  many  people  suppose  is  intended  by  that  much 
abused  word.  Activity  of  desire  and  expectancy  must 
precede  passivity  in  action.  There  must  be  an  end  or 
object  in  view  or  there  is  little  reason  in  the  attitude  of  the 
clairvoyant.  It  is  not  usually  very  profitable  to  simply  sit 
gazing  into  vacancy,  ready  to  see  anything  which  may 
present  itself  in  a  crystal ;  there  should  certainly  be  some 
definite  end  in  view  or  object  to  be  gained  if  the  exercise 
is  likely  to  prove  profitable  in  any  determinable  direction. 
There  are  a  great  many  things  we  wish  to  know  which 
transcend  the  scope  of  material  discovery,  and  if  our 
quest  for  this  additional  knowledge  is  legitimate  it  is 
perfectly  reasonable  to  believe  that  we  are  endowed  with 
some  means  or  faculty  whereby  we  can  make  these  dis- 
coveries. Once  let  the  idea  of  Clairvoyance  be  brought 
down  from  the  clouds  of  mysticism  in  which  it  has  so 
long  dwelt  and  psychical  investigation  will  be  so  far 
simplified  and  rationalized  that  the  exercise  of  Clairvoy- 
ance will  be  as  natural  and  regular  as  the  employment  of 
physical  eyesight.  Cleared  or  clarified  vision  is  necessarily 
extended  vision  and  the  thought  of  extension  applies 
quite  as  much  to  insight  as  to  farsight  or  foresight. 
Science  is  now  rapidly  demonstrating  the  presence  of 
myriads  of  objects  unseen  by  the  average  eye  yet  capable 
of  being  discerned  with  the  aid  of  a  microscope  and  often 


288  Universal  Spiritualism 

photographed  without  the  employment  of  other  or  more 
deUcate  apparatus  than  that  in  constant  use  among 
photographers.  If  a  clairvoyant  says,  "I  see  a  form  or 
object  beside  you  which  you  do  not  see  because  you  are 
not  equal  to  discerning  it,"  there  is  nothing  more  wonder- 
ful in  that  augmented  vision  of  the  human  seer  than  in 
the  proof  afforded  by  photography  or  microscopy  of  the' 
presence  of  the  same  objects.  The  present  age  is  happily 
one  in  which  man  is  coming  to  believe  in  himself  as  well 
as  in  something  external  to  himself  and  in  consequence  of 
this  ever  enlarging  view  of  man  universally  the  old  glamour 
of  supernaturalism  is  waning,  while  a  lawful  recognition 
of  psychic  phenomena  is  gaining  ground  continually. 
Culture  of  the  psychic  faculty  is  not  so  difficult,  neither 
is  it  so  very  easy,  as  some  suppose.  It  requires  persistent 
attention  rather  than  laborious  effort  just  as  the  close 
attention  we  pay  to  anything  often  rewards  us  far  more 
than  toilsome  attempts  to  force  ourselves  to  acquire  knowl- 
edge. Night  and  darkness  have  been  frequently  associated 
with  Clairvoyance,  because  night  and  shade  do  not  afford 
opportunity  or  invitation  to  excessive  physical  exercise  and 
we  cannot  as  a  rule  do  two  things  well  at  once.  One  by 
one  our  tasks  must  be  fulfilled ;  one  by  one  our  occupations 
must  be  dealt  with,  and  as  it  seems  impossible  to  be  awake 
and  asleep  at  the  same  instant,  so  does  it  seem  almost 
incredible  that  we  can  be  seriously  occupied  with  ma- 
terial cares  and  at  the  same  time  keenly  alive  to  what  lies 
beyond  external  ken.  Another  consideration  of  the  means 
whereby  Clairvoyance  can  be  developed,  occurs  to  us  as 
we  call  to  mind  a  narrative  concerning  some  good  people 
on  the  Pacific  coast  to  whom  the  Klondike  excitement 
brought  spiritual  development. 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  289 

A  happily  married  couple  who  had  long  been  interested 
in  psychical  matters,  but  had  registered  no  personal  evi- 
dence of  their  own  susceptibility  to  unseen  influences, 
were  for  several  months  completely  separated  in  body  as 
the  husband  went  to  Alaska  and  the  wife  remained  in 
Seattle  with  her  mother.  When  the  man  had  reached  the 
gold  fields  he  could  not  communicate  with  his  wife  in  any 
material  way  as  neither  telegraph,  telephone  nor  post-office 
was  available,  and  though  he  had  no  cause  to  be  anxious 
on  her  account,  as  she  was  a  healthy  woman  living  at 
home  in  a  comfortable  house  among  friends,  she  was 
greatly  concerned  for  his  welfare  as  many  alarming  ac- 
counts of  the  dangers  and  sufferings  of  miners  in  a  district 
near  where  she  believed  her  husband  to  be  working  had 
reached  her  ears.  Determined  to  put  to  a  practical  test 
the  statement  often  made  to  her  by  "sensitives"  of  her 
acquaintance,  that  she  was  an  excellent  clairvoyant  po- 
tentially though  actually  she  had  never  cultivated  her  en- 
dowment, she  resolved  upon  devoting  some  time  late  every 
evening  just  before  retiring  for  the  night  to  the  liberation 
of  her  psychic  faculty.  For  three  or  four  nights  she  sat 
quietly  in  an  easy  chair  in  her  sleeping  room  for  over  an 
hour  but  received  no  evidence  of  seership.  However  be- 
fore a  week  was  over  she  felt  herself  capable  of  discerning 
the  dim  outlines  of  a  mining  camp,  and  shortly  the  form 
of  her  husband  distinctly  appeared  to  her.  Describing 
her  experiences  to  friends  (she  was  always  willing  to  re- 
late them),  she  declared  many  times  in  the  most  positive 
terms  that  she  had  no  sensation  at  all  akin  to  traveling  in 
an  ''astral  body"  or  of  being  transported  through  space; 
on  the  contrary  she  felt  thoroughly  at  home  in  her  own 
organism,  but  her  vision  pierced  all  intervening  space  and 


290  Universal  Spiritualism 

Alaska  was  as  near  as  an  adjoining  dressing-room.  When 
her  husband  returned  well  and  strong  and  with  a  larger 
pile  of  treasure  than  many  miners  brought  with  them,  he 
was,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  literally  dumbfounded  "  with 
the  contents  of  his  wife's  diary  which  she  had  kept  faith- 
fully and  which  contained  minute  records  of  his  own  ex- 
periences in  Alaska  while  she  was  in  Seattle,  and  the 
most  satisfying  and  at  the  same  time  amazing  portions  of 
her  entries  were  thoughts  of  his  which  had  clearly  amounted 
to  perfect  mental  messages. 

After  closely  inspecting  the  diary  and  noting  the  dates 
of  the  different  entries  he  discovered  ,that  whenever  he 
had  particularly  wished  to  communicate  some  piece  of  in- 
formation to  his  wife  to  ease  her  mind  concerning  his 
health  and  safety  she  had  received  a  specially  clear  and 
strong  picture  of  himself  and  of  his  whereabouts,  while  at 
other  times  when  he  had  been  thinking  less  intently  of  his 
home  and  its  inmates  her  sight  of  him  and  his  surround- 
ings had  been  far  less  distinct.  Evidences  are  everywhere 
multiplying  which  go  far  to  prove  that  even  so  wildly 
romantic  a  tale  as  George  du  Maurier's  "  Peter  Ibbettson  " 
may  have  been  built  on  actual  fact,  for  it  does  occur  that 
when  two  people  are  devotedly  attached  to  each  other  and 
circumstances  hold  their  bodies  rigidly  apart,  the  soul- 
sense  we  may  well  call  Clairvoyance,  in  company  with  a 
train  of  kindred  senses  beyond  our  common  ken,  assert 
themselves  right  vigorously  and  afford  a  present  day  ex- 
planation of  the  telling  words  of  Lovelace,  ''  Stone  walls 
do  not  a  prison  make,  nor  iron  bars  a  cage." 

We  are  now  on  the  very  verge  of  Spiritualism  proper 
and  we  have  only  to  say  that  though  a  mass  of  error  has 
been  mixed  up  with  its  history  during  the  past  half  century 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  291 

and  more,  there  is  so  much  of  truth  in  it  as  a  demonstra- 
ble philosophy  that  through  the  steady  and  rapid  advance 
of  scientific  study  of  all  psychic  problems  now  in  progress, 
there  are  arising  new  and  noble  phases  of  mediumship 
convincing  the  inquiring  multitude  that  physical  dissolu- 
tion is  in  no  sense  death  in  the  old  blind  barbaric  meaning 
attached  to  that  ancient  word.  We  are  here  and  now 
spiritual  beings  and  we  remain  such  hereafter.  "  Death 
hath  no  power  to  part  the  fond,  they  are  together  still,"  is 
a  perfectly  true  statement,  and  equally  true  is  it  that  no 
possible  terrestrial  barriers  can  separate  effectually  those 
who  are  truly  linked  in  the  bonds  of  sincere  affection,  and 
are  therefore  united  one  to  the  other  in  spiritual  ways, 
which  earthly  changes  can  never  have  power  to  rupture. 
There  are  other  aspects  of  clairvoyance  apart  from  those 
we  have  been  touching  upon,  which  are  less  easily  dealt 
with,  because  they  are  often  mistaken  for  something  they 
certainly  are  not.  We  allude  to  the  sight  of  what  are  often 
termed  ''astral  pictures  "  which  inexperienced  sensitives 
cannot  very  readily  explain,  but  which  deeper  students  of 
clairvoyance  find  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for.  Nothing 
can  be  more  unreasonable  and  unkind  than  stamping  with 
the  brand  of  falsehood  visions  which  we  have  not  yet 
learned  to  interpret  scientifically.  Clairvoyants  often 
claim  to  know  nothing  of  the  real  nature  of  what  they  see, 
consequently  they  are  not  justly  chargeable  with  even 
making  mistakes  if  they  describe  scenes  which  seem  to  us 
incongruous  and  which  we  may  misinterpret  in  our  present 
ignorance  of  what  such  visions  truly  signify.  We  are 
often  greatly  pleased  with  descriptions  of  absent  or  de- 
parted friends  which  strike  us  at  first  as  extremely  accu- 
rate, but  when  we  look  more  deeply  into  the  question,  we 


292  Universal  Spiritualism 

are  beset  with  grave  difficulties.  A  good  clairvoyant  once 
gave  exactly  the  following  description  of  a  departed  brother 
to  a  gentleman  in  London  who  was  then  beginning  to  seri- 
ously investigate  the  claims  of  Spiritualism :  "I  see  a 
young  man  with  you ;  he  is  very  much  attached  to  you, 
and  is  constantly  with  you ;  he  appears  about  twenty-eight 
years  of  age,  certainly  not  over  thirty ;  he  is  dressed  in  a 
gray  tweed  suit  with  a  blue  cravat ;  his  hair  is  light  brown, 
rather  thin  and  parted  in  the  middle ;  he  has  a  moustache 
but  no  beard  or  whiskers."  The  gentleman  in  question 
went  to  another  clairvoyant  in  another  part  of  London  two 
or  three  days  later,  and  received  an  almost  identical 
description  which  he  declares  answers  exactly  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  his  younger  brother  who  passed  away  quite 
suddenly  while  on  a  summer  tour  in  Norway  rather  less 
than  two  years  previously.  The  facts  in  the  case  are,  that 
these  two  young  men  were  greatly  attached  to  each  other 
and  that  the  survivor  keeps  in  his  room  on  the  mantelpiece 
a  picture  of  his  departed  brother  very  differently  dressed,  so 
that  had  either  clairvoyant  seen  the  photograph  she  would 
have  described  a  black  suit  and  a  white  necktie.  When 
the  surviving  brother  last  saw  the  one  who  has  passed 
over,  that  young  man  was  attired  exactly  as  the  two  clair- 
voyants have  described,  but  no  material  portrait  has  been 
taken  of  him  in  that  dress.  Now  comes  in  the  investi- 
gator's difficulty.  Do  we  on  passing  into  spirit  life  (he 
inquires)  permanently  retain  the  exact  appearance,  even 
to  details  of  apparel,  which  we  presented  just  before  leav- 
ing the  mortal  frame,  and  if  not  why  are  we  told  that  our 
friends  present  just  such  appearances?  There  are  but  two 
rational  answers  to  this  most  natural  question,  and  they 
are  as  follows:      i.   Many  clairvoyants  see  into  our  sur- 


Telepathy  and  Clairvoyance  293 

rounding  aura  and  behold  imprinted  thereon  the  pictures 
of  events  and  circumstances  which  have  greatly  impressed 
us  and  which  we  carry  about  with  us  quite  unknowingly, 
it  may  be,  as  a  relatively  permanent  portion  of  the  contents 
of  our  psychic  picture  gallery.     2.   Our  friends  in  spirit- 
life  when  seeking  to  make  known  to  us  the  reality  of  their 
continued  interest  in  us   and  in  our  welfare,  often  show 
themselves  to  clairvoyant  vision  in  a  manner  most  sure  to 
strike  us  with  a  conviction  of  their  identity.     In  the  former 
instance  we  are  very  unlikely  to  receive  any  definite  in- 
formation and  are  apt  to  feel  perplexed  and  saddened  be- 
cause, though  our  friends  are  thus   accurately  described  as 
being  with  us,  we  never  seem  to  derive  a  glimmer  of  in- 
telligence as  to  their  condition  or  to  enjoy  any  comforting 
assurance  that  they  are  truly  in  communion  with  us.     In 
the  latter  instance  we  invariably  either  receive  some  char- 
acteristic message,  or  we  feel  in  some  subtle  spiritual  way 
that  we  are  truly  in  communion  with  one  whom  we  love 
and  by  whom  we  are  loved.      All  phases  of  psychic  phe- 
nomena are  now  being  considered  both  critically  and  sym- 
pathetically by  large  numbers  of  intelligent   people  to  an 
extent  utterly  unprecedented  in  comparatively  recent  times, 
and  as  it  is  always  desirable  to  be  cautious  ere  we  admit  too 
much,  though  we  should  be  ever  ready  to  accept  the  logic 
of  evidence   from  whatever  direction  it  may  come  without 
the  slightest  prejudice,   we  feel    properly  thankful  for  all 
attempted  definitions  of  so  wonderful   and   far-reaching  a 
faculty  as  clairvoyance  which  help  in  any  way  to  afford  a 
basis  for  a  rational  interpretation  of  its  true  nature.     The 
public  is  indebted  to  that  fascinating  author,  C.  W.  Lead- 
beater,  for   the  following    summarization  of  Clairvoyance 
which  we  quote  from  his  very  popular  work,  ''  Man  Visi- 


294  Universal  Spiritualism 

ble  and  Invisible,"  the  sub-title  of  which  is  "  Examples  of 
Different  Types  of  Men  as  Seen  by  Means  of  Trained  Clair- 
voyance."    Chapter  three,  entitled  ''Clairvoyant  Sight," 
ends  with  these  words, — "  The  clairvoyant  is  simply  a  man 
\who  develops  within  himself  the   power  to  respond  to  an- 
j  other  octave  out  of  the  stupendous  gamut  of  possible  vibra- 
Itions,  and  so  enables   himself  to   see  more  of  the  world 
around  him  than  those  of  more  limited  perception."     That 
'  statement  surely  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  telepathist 
who  feels  rather  than  sees,  and  to  the    clairaudient  also 
whose  especial  sensitiveness  is  in  the  field  of  hearing.     In- 
creased sensitiveness  is  the  key  to  the  mystery  in  all  cases 
and  this  can  be  successfully  induced  by  living   a  quiet, 
wholesome   life,  free   from    undue   excitement,   subsisting 
upon  simple  nutritious  food,  taking  a  good  amount  of  out- 
door exercise,  and  above  all  by  determining  to  live  a  life 
of  untarnished  truthfulness,  so  that  the  "auric  envelope  " 
may  be  kept  unsullied  as  a  reflecting  medium. 


CHAPTER   XXI 
SPIRITUALISM  IN  ALL  LANDS  AND  TIMES 

Selected  from  the  Writings  of  Dr.  J.  M.   Peebles. 

"  I  exist  as  I  am,  that  is  enough. 
If  no  other  in  the  world  be  aware,  I  sit  content. 
And  if  each  and  all  be  aware,  I  sit  content." 

—Walt  Whitman. 

Consciously  do  I  feel  that  this  life,  with  all  its 
shadows  and  struggles,  is  really  worth  the  living.  And 
such,  I  think,  is  the  general  testimony  of  human  experience. 
During  many  wanderings  in  savage,  semi-civilized,  and 
enlightened  lands,  I  have  seen  a  thousand  smiles  for  a  single 
tear,  and  I  have  heard  ten  thousand  merry  peals  of 
laughter  for  a  single  groan  of  suffering.  Surely,  God  is 
good. 

But  if  death,  as  the  atheist  contends,  "ends  all,"  then 
this  life  is  a  little  more  than  a  tempest-tossed,  tantalizing 
dream.  If  men  rich  in  possibilities  become,  in  dying, 
only  dust  and  drifting  gases,  then  hope,  sympathy,  aspi- 
ration for  immortality,  and  all  the  soul's  transcendent  attri- 
butes, are  nothing  but  heartless,  pitiless  mockeries. 

This  world  is  of  very  little  importance  unless  there  is 
another  and  a  higher  with  equal  opportunities  and  vastly 
better  facilities  for  unfoldment ;  another  world  or  worlds 
to  look  forward  to  in  the  future.  And  the  word  "  future  " 
implies  faith.  '-'  The  inspired  soul  feeds  in  a  measure  upon 
faith.  It  is  faith  in  Infinite  W^isdom,  in  Nature's  laws  and 
faith  in  man,  that  moves  tlie  wheels  of  enterprise.     And 

295 


2g6  Universal  Spiritualism 

it  is  faith  in  a  future  existence  that,  during  all  the  ancient 
ages,  gave  energy  and  public  spirit  to  earth's  teeming 
millions. 

Navigators  sailing,  Columbus-like,  under  the  inspiration 
of  a  lofty  faith,  have  discovered  new  islands  and  continents. 
Hardy  toilers  plow  and  sow  and  plant  in  a  trusting  faith 
that  the  sun  will  shine  and  the  harvests  come  in  due  season. 
Tradesmen  transact  business  with  a  confiding  faith  in 
their  fellow-men.  Faith  is  an  all-inspiring  force  in  the  in- 
ternational relations  of  foreign  commerce  and  in  all  the 
higher  walks  of  social  and  intellectual  life.  Faith  in  the 
great,  throbbing  heart  of  humanity  is  sublime,  and  faith  in 
God — the  tender,  loving,  ''Our  Father  who  art  in 
heaven," — is  the  divinest,  most  restful,  satisfying  emotion 
of  the  human  soul. 

But  man  cannot  live  by  faith  alone  any  more  than  by 
bread  alone.  Faith,  while  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
for,  looks  towards  the  mountain  top  of  the  ideal  and  cries 
for  light — more  light.  "  Add,"  said  the  apostle,  "  to  your 
faith  knowledge."  This  he  himself  personally  did,  ex- 
claiming, "For  we  know  that  if  this  our  earthly  house  were 
dissolved,  we  have  a  house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in 
the  heavens."  With  the  true  Spiritualist,  as  with  the 
great  apostle,  faith  buds  and  blossoms,  and  has  its  fruition 
in  the  absolute  knowledge  of  a  future  conscious  existence. 

How  did  Paul  know  of  ''  a  house  not  made  with  hands 
eternal  in  the  heavens,"  or  of  those  higher  spheres  of  im- 
mortality ?  (He  knew  because  he  had  visions  ;  because  he 
was  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,  and  because,  when  en- 
tranced, he  heard  a  voice — a  spirit — speaking  to  him  out  of 
the  unseen.  In  brief,  he  knew  of  a  future  existence  in  the 
heavens  because  he  was  a  Spiritualist — a  spiritualistic  me- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   297 

dium.  The  disciples  were  all  mediums.  That  is  the 
reason  why  Jesus  selected  them.  His  clairvoyant  eye  saw 
in  them  the  outputting  potencies  of  marvelous  spiritual  gifts. 
This  period  in  Jewish  history  was  the  opening  of  a  new 
cycle — a  new  and  more  spiritual  dispensation. 

"  God  sends  his  teachers  unto  every  age, 
To  every  clime  and  race  of  men." 

Spiritualism,  in  some  form,  has  obtained  through  all  the 
ages  and  among  all  races.  When  a  maiden  died  among 
the  Senecas  of  the  North  American  Indians,  the  heart- 
stricken  mourners  imprisoned  a  young  bird  until  it  began 
to  sing ;  then,  loading  it  with  caresses  and  loving  messages, 
they  released  it  over  the  maiden's  grave,  bidding  it  not  to 
fold  its  wings  nor  close  its  eyes  until  it  had  reached  ''  the 
happy  hunting  grounds"  of  heaven;  and  then,  feasting  in 
silence  under  some  mossy  rock  or  moaning  pine  for  three 
days,  these  sad-hearted  Indians  expected  responses  from  the 
loved  one  by  dreams  or  visions  or  in  the  low  murmuring 
songs  of  the  night-bird  of  the  forest. 

If  Spiritualism  means  simply  converse  with  departed 
mortals,  then  it  is  as  ancient  as  remotest  antiquity.  Pro- 
fessor Boscowen,  the  noted  archaeologist,  says  in  his 
"Records  of  the  Monuments":  ''In  dream  and  visions 
the  primitive  Akkadians  no  doubt  saw,  as  they  declared, 
the  shadowy  forms  of  departed  human  beings,  which  led 
them  to  regard  them  not  as  simply  vanished,  but  still  ex- 
isting as  shades  in  some  dark,  far  distant,  subterranean 
place."  He  further  adds  :  "The  inscriptions,  as  early  as 
B.  c.  3800,  on  the  tablets  show  belief  in  ghosts  and  a  wor- 
ship of  a  ghost  god,  ancestral  ghosts,  the  nisi,  or  spirits,  the 
anunas,  the  friends  they  once  knew,  sitting   upon   their 


298  Universal  Spiritualism 

thrones  as  master  spirits,  or  traversing  the  vaporour, 
underworld,  hailing  each  newcomer  with  the  cry,  *'  Didst 
thou  become  weak  as  we,  and  dost  thou  realize  life  as  now 
do  we?  Welcome — welcome  to  our  abodes."  This  is 
almost  the  exact  phraseology  of  one  of  the  lately  discov- 
ered Babylonian  tablets. 

I  repeat,  if  Spiritualism  means  simply  belief  in  converse 
with  departed  mortals,  then  India's  throbbing  three  hun- 
dred millions  of  to-day  are  Spiritualists.  /Their  whole  re- 
ligious literature  abounds  in  communications  with  gods,  de- 
vas  and  pitris — their  departed  ancestors.  These  latter  they 
propitiate.  Every  household  has  its  familiars.  The  vo- 
luminous Sanskrit  manuscripts,  the  Vedas  and  the  Upan- 
ishads,  frequently  mention  the  Bhutas,  Pritas,  and  Pisachas 
— especially  the  Pritas — as  familiar  ancestral  spirits.  Their 
sacred  books  describe  their  abodes,  their  obsessing  in- 
fluences, their  general  characteristics,  and  how  to  avert 
their  control  by  mantras  and  invocations. 

During  my  several  visits  to  India,  I  never  conversed 
with  an  intelligent  Hindoo  Pundit  who  did  not  believe 
that  the  invisible  regions  were  filled  with  different  grada- 
tions of  conscious  intelligence,  and  that  certain  classes  of 
spirits  had  the  power  to  communicate  with  and  infest  hu- 
manity. They  do  not  encourage  spirit  communications 
— they  fear  them.  I  spent  days  in  Southern  India  in  cast- 
ing out  demons — that  is,  in  demagnetizing  the  Hindoo 
mediums  who  were  obsessed  by  undeveloped  spirits. 

In  Ancient  Egypt,  Spiritualism  was  the  very  foundation 
for  the  national  religion.  Their  hierophants  taught  the 
initiated  that  the  soul  is  immortal ;  that  during  several 
lives  it  passed  through  several  zoether  zones,  all  of  which 
were  processes  of  purification.     Hermes  taught  that  the 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times    299 

visible  is  but  a  picture  of  the  invisible  world — that  this 
earth  was  surrounded  by  circles  of  ether,  and  that  in  these 
ether  circles  the  souls  of  the  dead  lived  and  guarded  mor- 
tals. Strabo  states  that  in  the  temple  of  Serapis  at  Ca- 
nopus,  "  great  worship  was  performed  and  many  miraculous 
works  wrought,  which  the  most  eminent  men  believed  and 
practiced,  while  others  devoted  themselves  to  the  sacred 
sleep  ' '  that  is,  the  unconscious  trance.  The  consecrated 
temple  at  Alexandria  was  still  more  famous  for  its  oracles, 
consecrated  sleep,  and  the  healing  of  invalids. 

Berosus,  in  transcribing  the  early  legends  of  Babylonia 
and  Chaldea,  describes  the  gods  of  heaven  and  the  lower 
elementaries  who  were  in  sympathy  with  them,  and  often 
influenced  the  inhabitants  of  earth  both  for  good  and  ill. 
They  had  magical  directions  for  dispossessing  disturbing 
demons  and  for  inviting  the  protection  of  the  good  genii 
— in  other  words,  the  more  exalted  spirits. 

A  tablet  in  the  library  at  Nineveh  describes  seven  su- 
preme gods,  iifty  great  gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  three 
hundred  spirits  of  the  lower  heavens,  and  six  hundred  of 
the  earth.  These  latter  were  invoked  to  bring  messages 
from  the  invisible  shores  of  immortahty. 

The  master  minds  of  Greece,  such  as  Thales,  who  lived 
some  six  hundred  years  b.  c,  thought  that  the  universe 
was  peopled  with  daimons,  who  were  the  spiritual  guides 
of  human  beings  and  the  invisible  witnesses  of  all  their 
thoughts  and  actions. 

Epimenides,  the  cotemporary  of  Solon,  frequently  re- 
ceived divine  revelations  from  the  spiritual  heavens. 

Zeno  declared  that  tutelary,  or  guardian,  spirits  inspired 
his  speech  and  directed  his  actions. 
:    Socrates  was    constantly  attended,   as  every  reader  of 


300  Universal  Spiritualism 

.'history  knows,  by  his  demon  guide,  with  whom  he  con- 
versed, and  whose  advice  he  was  proud  to  receive  and 
( acknowledge. 

Apuleius,  the  Roman  historian,  assured  the  people  that 
the  souls  of  men,  when  detached  from  their  bodies  and 
freed  from  their  physical  functions,  became  a  species  of 
daimon,  or  lemurs,  who  gratified  their  beneficence  in 
watchfully  guarding  individuals,  families,  and  cities. 

Homer,  in  the  twenty-third  book  of  the  Iliad,  describes 
the  spirit  of  Patroclus  as  appearing  to  Achilles,  and  ad- 
juring him  to  bestow  the  last  funeral  rites  upon  the  body 
of  his  friend,  that  he  might  the  sooner  commence  his 
spiritual  advancement. 

In  the  eleventh  book  of  the  Odyssey,  Ulysses  is  de- 
picted as  visiting  the  underworld  regions  of  the  Cimmeri- 
ans, and  as  conversing  with  the  spirit  of  Tyresius  Elpenor 
and  his  own  mother,  from  whom  he  received  most  encour- 
aging tidings. 

The  poet  Hesiod,  whose  verses  were  so  prized  by  the 
old  Greeks  that  they  committed  them  to  memory,  be- 
Mieved  that  each  conscious  soul  was  a  potential  portion 
(of  God,  the  ''Oversoul."  Recognizing  the  conscious  ex- 
/  istence  of  these  souls,  or  spirits,  he  thought  they  were 
;  drawn  earthward  from  the  higher  regions  by  the  desires  of 
their  friends. 

Plutarch  informs  us  that  those  who  aspired  to  be  brought 
into  sympathetic  communion  with  the  higher  intelligences 
of  the  shadowlands  were  expected  to  renounce  the  follies 
of  the  world  and  to  practice  self-denial,  and  to  bring  the 
lower  functions  and  faculties  of  their  natures  into  complete 
subjection  to  the  spiritual. 

Cicero  tells  us  that  the  mysteries,  which  were  symbol- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   301 

ically  allied  to  spiritual  invisible  presences,  enkindled  and 
[  inspired  a  knowledge  of  the  future  life,  and  made  this  life 
more  pleasant  by  filling  the  mind  of  the  dying  with  beauti- 
ful ideas  of  cheerfulness  and  resignation. 

Pythagoras,  who  visited  India,  Persia,  and  Egypt,  and 
who  had  been  initiated  into  the  inner  court  of  Isis,  was 
one  of  the  most  astonishing  mediums  of  antiquity.  His 
psychic  powers  were  attested  by  Claudius  ^ian.  Porphyry 
of  Tyre,  and  Jamblichus,  the  Neo-Platonist. 

Plato,  the  favorite  pupil  of  Socrates,  and  prince  of  phi- 
losophers, held  precisely  the  same  ideas  in  regard  to  spirits 
and  their  communion  with  mortals  as  did  his  great  teacher. 
^*  There  are,"  he  said,  "  daimons,  the  souls  of  those  who 
'  have  died  ;  and  each  human  being  has  a  particular  spirit 
with  him,  to  be  his  tutelary  and  guiding  genius  during 
his  mortal  lifetime  ;  and  when  the  physical  life  is  ended 
this  spirit  receives  and  accompanies  the  enfranchised  one 
to  its  future  destiny,  the  Elysian  Fields  of  immortality. 

The  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the  Apocrypha,  and  the 
Talmudic  writings — all  abound,  more  or  less,  in  angel 
ministries,  spirit  communications,  trances,  visions,  and 
apparitions. 

^  Origen,  a  celebrated  bishop,  and  one  of  the  most  learned 
and  illustrious  that  graced  the  early  Christian  centuries, 
wrote  thus  in  his  ''  De  Principiis"  :  ''What  shall  we  say 
of  the  Diviners,  from  whom — by  the  working  of  those 
spirits  (demons)  who  have  the  mastery  over  them — an- 
swers are  given  (to  those  who  consult  them)  in  carefully- 
constructed  verses  ?  Those  persons,  too,  whom  they  term 
Magi  (magicians)  frequently,  by  invoking  demons  over 
boys  of  tender  years,  have  made  them  repeat  poetical 
compositions  and  give  poetical  improvisations  which  were 


302  Universal  Spiritualism 

the  admiration  and  amazement  of  all.  Now  these  effects, 
we  suppose,  are  brought  about  in  the  following  manner  : 
As  holy  and  immaculate  souls  after  devoting  themselves  to 
God  with  all  perfection  and  purity,  and  preserving  them- 
selves from  the  contagion  of  evil  spirits,  and  purifying 
themselves  by  long  abstinence,  by  these  means  they  assume 
a  portion  of  divinity  and  earn  the  grace  of  prophecy  and 
,  other  divine  gifts.  The  result  of  this  is  that  they  are  filled 
with  the  working  of  those  spirits  to  whose  service  they  have 
subjected  themselves. ' ' 

This  erudite  Christian  Father,  Origen,  in  writing  against 
his  atheist  antagonist,  Celsus  (200  a.  d.),  says  :  ''  Celsus 
has  compared  the  miracles  (spiritual  manifestations)  of 
Jesus  to  the  tricks  of  jugglers  and  the  magic  of  Egyptians, 
and  there  would  indeed  be  a  resemblance  between  them  if 
Jesus,  like  the  practitioners  of  magic  arts,  had  performed 
his  works  only  for  show  or  worldly  gain." 

In  his  celebrated  work,  ''  De  Anima,"  Tertullian  says  : 
*' We  had  a  right  to  anticipate  prophecies  and  the  continu- 
ance of  spiritual  gifts,  and  we  are  now  permitted  to  enjoy 
the  gift  of  a  prophetess.     There  is  a  sister  among  us  who 
(possesses  the  faculty  of  revelation.     Commonly,   during 
religious    service,    she    falls    into   a    trance,   holding  then 
;  communion  with  angels,  beholding  Jesus  himself,  hearing 
'divine  mysteries   explained,    reading    the  hearts  of  some 
,  persons,  and  administering  to  such  as  require  it.     When 
/the  Scriptures   are  read,  or  psalms  sung,  spiritual  beings 
\  minister  visions  to   her.     We  were  speaking  of  the  soul 
jonce  when  our  sister  was  in   the  spirit  (entranced),  and, 
,the  people  departing,  she  then  communicated  to  us  what 
(she  had  seen  in  her  ecstasy,  which  was  afterwards  closely 
inquired  into  and  tested.     She  declared  she  *had  seen  a 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times    303 

soul  in  bodily  shape,  which  appeared  to  be  a  spirit,  neither 
empty  nor  formless,  but  so  real  and  substantial  that  it 
might  be  touched.  It  was  tender,  shining,  of  the  color  of 
the  air,  but  in  everything  resembUng  the  human  form.'  " 

For  three  hundred  years  after  the  apostles,  visions, 
apparitions,  healing  gifts  and  spiritual  marvels  abounded 
in  all  Christian  countries.  Believers,  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  cast  out  demons,  made  the  lame  to  walk  and  the 
blind  to  see.  And  all  along  down  the  centuries  to  the 
Reformation  there  were  rifts  in  the  clouds,  lights  from 
above,  and  messages  from  the  invisible  world. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  never  denied  the 
miracles — the  spiritual  manifestations  of  the  ages.  All 
the  religious  movements  of  the  past  originated  in  spiritual 
manifestations.  Take  as  a  sample,  George  Fox,  the 
founder  of  Quakerism ;  Ann  Lee,  the  founder  of  Shaker- 
ism  ;  the  Wesleys,  founders  of  Methodism,  and  Sweden- 
borg,  the  founder  of  the  Swedenborgian  or  New  Church. 
Swedenborg  held  open  intercourse  with  the  spiritual  world 
during  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years.  The  world's  re- 
ligious epoch-builders  were  all  possessed  of  marvelous 
spiritual  gifts.  Elder  Frederick  Evans,  a  distinguished 
American  Shaker  preacher,  used  to  often  say,  ''Quaker- 
ism began  in  the  spirit,  but  is  ending  in  the  flesh  and  in 
the  worldliness  of  the  world."  Sir  James  Macintosh  says 
of  Fox's  Journal:  *'It  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
and  instructive  narratives  in  the  world — which  no  reader 
of  competent  judgment  can  peruse  without  revering  the 
eminent  virtue  of  the  writer." 

This  Journal  reminds  us  of,  and  is  a  fitting  companion 
to,  Swedenborg's  Diary.  The  following  statements  are 
condensed  from  it : 


304  Universal  Spiritualism 

Born  in  July,  1624,  Fox  was  naturally,  when  young,  of 
a  rather  grave  deportment.  When  about  nineteen  he  be- 
came annoyed  by  the  frivolous  and  profane  conversation  of 
the  young,  and  spending  a  night  in  prayer,  he  heard  a 
voice  saying  :  ^*  Thou  seest  how  young  people  go  together 
in  vanity  and  old  people  into  their  graves ;  thou  must  for- 
sake, be  a  stranger  to,  all,  and  be  guided  by  the  spirit." 

Traveling  to  London,  and  listening  by  the  way  to  many 
preachers,  he  remarks  :  *'  I  was  afraid  of  them,  for  I  was 
sensible  that  they  did  not  possess  what  they  professed." 
After  relating  to  the  clergymen  that  at  times  he  "heard 
voices  and  felt  the  presence  of  spirits, ' '  one  of  these  jolly 
old  clergymen  of  the  Anglican  Church  told  him  to  "  smoke 
tobacco  and  sing  psalms."  Another  advised  him  to  ''go 
to  a  surgeon  and  lose  some  blood."  Turning  to  the  Dis- 
senters, he  "  found  them  also  blind  guides." 

Wandering  often  in  quiet  places ;  fasting  frequently  with 
Bible  in  hand ;  meditating  and  battling  with  doubts  and 
temptations,  he  at  last  *'  fell  into  a  trance  that  lasted  four- 
teen days,  and  many  who  came  to  see  him  during  that  time 
wondered  to  see  his  countenance  so  changed,  for  he  not 
only  had  the  appearance  of  a  dead  man,  but  seemed  to 
them  to  be  really  dead.  But  after  this  his  mind  was  re- 
lieved of  its  sorrows,  so  that  he  could  have  wept  night  and 
day  with  tears  of  joy,  in  humility  and  brokenness  of  heart. 
In  this  state,"  he  says,  ''*  I  saw  into  that  which  is  without 
end,  and  things  which  cannot  be  uttered ;  and  of  the 
greatness  and  infiniteness  of  the  love  of  God." 

When  at  Mansfield  he  *Mvas  struck  bhnd,"  so  that  he 
could  not  see,  after  which,  he  says,  '*I  went  to  a  village 
and  many  people  accompanied  me.  And  as  I  was  sitting 
in  a  house  full  of  people,  I  cast  my  eyes  upon  a  woman  and 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   305 

discerned  in  her  an  unclean  (undeveloped)  spirit.  Moved 
to  speak  sharply,  I  told  her  she  was  under  the  influence  of 
an  unclean  spirit.  Having  the  gift  of  discerning  spirits,  I 
many  times  saw  the  states  and  conditions  of  people,  and 
could  try  their  spirits." 

He  frequently  healed  the  sick  by  laying  on  of  hands. 
To  Richard  Myer,  who  had  long  had  a  very  lame,  rheu- 
matic arm,  he  said:  ''Stand  upon  thy  legs  and  stretch 
out  thine  arm."  He  did  so,  and  Fox  exclaimed  :  "  Be  it 
known  unto  you  and  to  all  people  that  this  day  you  are 
healed."  Although  Macaulay  sneers  at  Fox's  casting  out 
devils  and  performing  miracles,  many  remarkable  cases  of 
this  kind  are  recorded  in  his  Journal,  and  were  witnessed  by 
thousands  of  people.  In  his  "Life  Sketches"  he  uses 
"Lord,"  "angels,"  and  "spirits"  interchangeably,  as  do 
the  old  biblical  writers. 

"  Coming  to  within  a  mile  of  Litchfield,  where  shepherds 
were  keeping  their  sheep,  I  was  commanded,"  he  says,  "by 
the  Lord  to  put  off  my  shoes.  I  stood  still,  for  it  was  win- 
ter, and  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  like  a  fire  in  me.  So  I 
put  off  my  shoes  and  left  them  with  the  shepherds,  and  the 
poor  shepherds  trembled  and  were  astonished.  Then  I 
walked  on  about  a  mile,  and  as  soon  as  I  was  within  the 
city  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me  again,  saying, 
*  Cry,  Woe  unto  the  bloody  city  of  Litchfield  !  '  So  I 
went  up  and  down  the  streets,  crying  with  a  loud  voice, 
'  Woe  to  the  bloody  city  of  Litchfield  !  '  It  being  market 
day,  I  went  into  the  market-place,  and  to  and  fro  in  the 
several  parts  of  it,  and  made  stands,  crying  as  before, 
'  Woe  to  the  bloody  city  of  Litchfield  !  '  And  no  one 
laid  hands  on  me ;  but  as  I  went  thus  crying  through  the 
streets,   there  seemed  to  be  a  channel  of  blood  running 


3o6  Universal  Spiritualism 

down  the  streets,  and  the  market-place  appeared  like  a 
pool  of  blood.  When  I  had  declared  what  the  spirit  put 
upon  me,  I  felt  myself  clear.  I  went  out  of  the  town  in 
peace,  and,  returning  to  the  shepherds,  gave  them  some 
money  and  took  my  shoes  of  them. 

"  After  this  a  deep  consideration  came  upon  me.  Why, 
or  for  what  reason,  should  I  be  sent  against  that  city  and 
call  it  *  the  bloody  city '  ?  But  afterwards  I  came  to  un- 
derstand that  in  the  Emperor  Diocletian's  time  a  thousand 
Christians  were  martyred  here  in  Litchfield.  So  I  was  to 
go  without  my  shoes,  through  the  channel  of  their  blood  in 
the  market-place,  that  I  might  raise  up  the  memorial  of 
the  blood  of  those  martyrs  which  had  been  shed  a  thousand 
years  before.     The  sense  of  their  blood  was  upon  me." 

These  were  among  the  common  sayings  of  the  inspired 
George  Fox  while  preaching  :  "  Verily,  I  heard  a  voice  ;  ' ' 
"The  spirit  was  upon  me;  "  ''I  saw  in  visions;  "  "  The 
prophecies  were  open  to  me."  *' When,  at  a  meeting  of 
Friends  in  Derby,  there  was  such  a  mighty  power  of  spirit 
felt,"  says  Fox,  **that  the  people  were  shaken  and  many 
mouths  were  opened  to  testify  that  the  angels  of  God  do 
minister  unto  mortal  men." 

The  original  Quakers,  like  the  post- Apostolic  Christians, 
were  Spiritualists  ;  but  our  latter-day  Quakers,  denying  or 
deadening  their  spiritual  gifts  by  selfishness  and  worldli- 
ness,  have  crystallized,  and  so  are  a  dying  religious 
sect. 

In  the  old  Wesley  residence,  Epworth,  England,  marked 
spiritual  manifestations  occurred  for  years.  An  account  of 
these  was  written  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hooley,  of  Haxey,  by 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  by  a  writer  in  the  Armiman  Magazine 
and  others.     It  is  pitiable  that  modern  Methodist  preachers 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   307 

do  not  mention  them  as  among  the  present  demonstrations 
of  a  future  existence.  From  a  large  volume  by  John 
Wesley,  entitled  "The  Invisible  World,"  pubhshed  over  a 
hundred  years  ago,  I  make  the  following  quotations  : 

'*  It  is  true  that  the  English  in  general  indeed,  most  of 
the  men  of  learning  in  Europe,  have  given  up  all  accounts 
of  witches  and  apparitions  as  mere  old  wives'  fables.  I  am 
sorry  for  it,  and  I  willingly  take  this  opportunity  of  enter- 
ing my  solemn  protest  against  this  violent  compliment 
which  so  many  that  believe  the  Bible  pay  to  those  who  do 
not  believe  it.  I  owe  them  no  such  service.  I  take 
knowledge  these  are  at  the  bottom  of  the  outcry  which  has 
been  raised,  and  with  such  insolence  spread  throughout  the 
nation  ;  and  in  direct  opposition,  not  only  to  the  Bible,  but 
to  the  suffrage  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  men  in  all  ages 
and  nations.  They  well  know  (whether  Christians  know 
it  or  not)  that  the  giving  up  of  witchcraft  (the  control  of 
undeveloped  spirits)  is  in  effect  giving  up  the  Bible.  And 
they  know,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if  but  one  account  of 
men  with  separate  spirits  be  admitted,  their  whole  castle  in 
the  air  (deism,  atheism,  and  materialism)  falls  to  the  ground. 
One  of  the  capital  objections  to  all  the  accounts,  which  I 
have  known  urged  over  and  over,  is  this,  '  Did  you  ever 
see  an  apparition  yourself?'  No,  nor  did  I  ever  see  a 
murder,  yet  I  believe  there  is  such  a  thing.  Yea,  and  in 
one  place  or  another  murder  is  committed  every  day. 
Therefore  I  cannot,  as  a  reasonable  being,  deny  the  fact, 
though  I  never  saw  it,  and  perhaps  never  may.  The  tes- 
timony of  unexceptionable  witnesses  fully  convinces  me  of 
both  the  one  and  the  other." 

''Elizabeth  Hobson  was  born  in  Sunderland  in  1774. 
Her  father  dying  when  she  was  three  or  four  years  old,  her 


308  Universal  Spiritualism 

uncle,  Thomas  Rea,  a  pious  man,  brought  her  up  as  his 
daughter.  She  was  a  serious  child  and  grew  up  in  the 
fear  of  God ;  yet  she  had  a  deep  and  sharp  conviction  of 
sin  until  she  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  she  found 
peace  with  God,  and  from  that  time  the  whole  tenor  of 
her  behavior  was  suitable  to  her  profession.  On  Wednes- 
day, May  23d,  1788,  and  the  three  following  days,  I 
talked  with  her  at  large.  But  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I 
could  prevail  upon  her  to  speak.  The  substance  of  what 
she  said  was  as  follows  : 

''/From  my  childhood,  when  any  of  my  neighbors 
died,  whether  men,  women,  or  children,  I  used  to  see 
them  just  before,  or  when  they  died,  and  1  was  not  at  all 
frightened,  it  was  so  common ;  indeed,  I  did  not  then 
know  they  were  dead.  I  saw  many  of  them  by  day  and 
many  of  them  by  night.  Those  that  came  when  it  was 
dark  brought  light  with  them.  I  observed  that  little 
children  and  many  grown  persons  had  a  bright,  glorious 
light  around  them,  but  many  had  a  gloomy,  dismal  light 
and  a  dusky  cloud  over  them.'  " 

' ''  Perhaps  the  glorified  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 
may,  like  the  angels,  be  employed  in  carrying  on  the  pur- 
poses of  God  in  the  world.  It  is  said  of  them,  '  His  serv- 
ants shall  serve  him.'  "      (Heb.  22.) 

''Possibly,  as  ministering  spirits,  they  may  minister  unto 
the  heirs  of  salvation,  and  watch  over  the  interests  of  those 
who  on  earth  were  dear  to  them,  either  by  the  ties  of  nature 
or  religion.  One  of  them  was  employed  to  converse  with 
the  Apostle  John  and  explain  to  him  the  wonderful  things 
he  saw  in  his  visions."      (Rev.  22.) 

"  The  sentiment  for  which  we  are  pleading  has  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  highest  antiquity.     Philo  speaks  of  it  as  a  re- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   309 

ceived  notion  of  the  Jews  that  the  souls  of  good  men  offi- 
ciate as  ministering  spirits.  The  Pagans,  in  the  earliest 
ages,  imagined  that  the  spirits  of  their  deceased  friends 
continued  near  them,  and  were  frequently  engaged  in  per- 
forming acts  of  kindness,  hence  the  deification  of  their 
kings  and  heroes,  and  the  custom  of  invoking  the  names  of 
those  who  were  dear  to  them." 

''  Cicero  makes  a  better  use  of  the  doctrine,  when  he 
endeavors  to  comfort  a  father  for  the  loss  of  a  son  by  the 
thought  ithat  he  might  still  be  engaged  in  performing  kind 
offices  for  him.  And  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  idea, 
though  perverted  by  the  heathen  for  the  purpose  of  idolatry, 
might,  like  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  be 
derived  from  a  divine  source." 

<'A  few  years  ago,  a  gentleman  of  most  correct  char- 
acter and  serious  carriage,  who  resided  near  St.  James 
and  lived  very  happily  with  his  wife,  was  taken  sick  and 
died,  which  so  effected  his  dear  left  companion  that  she 
sickened  also  and  kept  her  bed. 

'*  In  about  ten  days  after  her  husband's  death,  as  she 
was  sitting  upright  in  bed,  and  a  friend  and  near  rela- 
tion  sitting  near  her,  she  looked  steadfastly  towards  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  and  said  with  a  cheerful  voice,  <  My  dear, 
I  will  be  with  you  in  two  hours.'  The  gentlewoman 
that  was  with  her  (and  who  firmly  attested  the  same 
as  most  true)  said  to  her,  '  Child,  whom  do  you 
speak  to?'  (for  she  saw  nobody).  She  answered,  '  It  is 
my  husband,  who  came  to  call  me  hence,  and  I  am  going 
to  him ;  '  which  surprised  her  friend  very  much,  who, 
thinking  she  was  a  little  light  headed,  called  in  some  one 
else,  to  whom  she  spoke  very  cheerfully  and  told  the  same 
story ;  but  before  the  two  hours  were  expired  she  went  on 


310  Universal  Spiritualism 

and  up  to  her  dear  companion,  to  be  happy  together 
forever,  to  the  great  surprise  of  all  present. 

"  The  soul  receives  not  its  perfections  or  activity 
from  the  body,  but  can  live  and  act  out  of  the  body  ;  yea, 
much  better,  having  then  its  perfect  liberty,  divested 
of  that  heavy  incumbrance  which  only  clogged  and  fet- 
tered it.  'Doubtless,'  saith  Tertullian,  'when  the  soul 
is  separated  from  the  body  it  comes  out  of  darkness  into 
its  own  pure  and  perfect  light,  and  quickly  finds  itself  a 
substantial  being,  able  to  act  freely  in  that  light  and  par- 
ticipate in  heavenly  joys. '  ' ' 

The  former  historical  references  prove  that  the  facts 
and  the  fundamental  truths  of  Spiritualism  were  in  re- 
motest antiquity  similar  to  those  of  to-day.  And  why 
not  ? — since  there  is  but  one  God,  one  law,  one  Divine 
purpose,  one  historical  continuity,  one  brotherhood,  *'one 
spirit,"  with,  as  Paul  says,  '*  a  diversity  of  gifts." 

A  traveler  in  nearly  all  latitudes  'neath  the  northern 
star,  or  summering  under  the  Southern  Cross,  I  have  seen 
neither  races  nor  tribes,  white,  brown-skinned,  or  black, 
without  sympathy  for  their  kindred — without  cemeteries 
for  their  dead — without  altars,  however  rude,  for  their 
worship,  and  without  dreams,  apparitions,  visions,  and 
methods  of  some  sort  for  communicating  with  the  dead. 
Uncouth,  vague,  if  not  rude  and  vulgar  to  us,  they  may 
have  been ;  yet,  they  foreshadowed  the  soul's  immortality, 
and  brought  to  sorrowing,  trusting  souls,  that  piece  of 
mind  that  passeth  understanding. 

These  spiritual  marvels,  natural  to  the  plane  from 
which  they  proceeded,  have,  through  all  periods  of  time, 
appeared  as  echoing  openings  from  the  silence,  as  lights 
from    the    inountain-tops,    necessarily   assuming    various 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   311 

forms,  according  to  the  period,  the  temperament,  and 
racial  development  of  a  people.  They  were,  and  are, 
all  in  the  line  of  evolution.  They  were,  and  are,  God's 
living  witnesses  of  a  future  existence.  To  deny  them,  to 
destroy  them,  is  to  plunge  the  world  into  the  thickest 
darkness  of  materialism. 

The  Spiritualism  of  this  age  was  no  modern  in- 
vention of  either  spirits  or  mortals,  but  rather  a  discov- 
ery— the  re-discovery,  of  a  fact,  or  range  of  facts,  in 
perfect  accord  with  natural  law.  It  did  not  spring  into 
birth  full  grown,  like  Minerva  from  Jupiter's  brain.  It 
was  seemingly  feeble  at  first.  It  is  youthful  yet,  when 
compared  with  Protestantism  and  its  swarming  sects. 
And  yet,  it  is  a-fire  with  truth,  and  a-flame  with  infinite 
possibilities.  I'Atheistic  materialists  and  sectarian  priests 
might  quite  as  well  think  of  dethroning  Divinity  as  of 
checking  the  onward  march  of  Spiritualism. 

Christianity  started  from  a  dream  (Matt,  i  :  20) ;  Spir- 
itualism from  a  mystic  rap.  Angels  and  spirits  were  the 
potent  powers  behind  them  both.  The  mightiest  results 
often  follow  from  the  minutest  causes.  Newton's  falling 
apple  pointed  to  that  hidden  law  that  holds  suns  and 
stars  in  their  circling  orbits.  That  little  puff  of  steam 
from  Watts'  boiling  kettle  foretold  of  railways  and 
steamers  girdling  the  globe.  How  insignificant  to  proud, 
imperial  Rome  was  that  Babe  cradled  in  a  Bethlehem 
manger.  And  yet,  there  lay  concealed  mighty  causes 
that  in  less  than  three  hundred  years  shook  the  whole 
Roman  Empire  to  its  very  foundations ;  and  later  planted 
the  Cross,  symbol  of  life,  upon  the  hills  and  mountains 
of  every  civilized  land.  So,  those  little  half-muffled 
sounds,  those   gentle,  telegraphic   tickings   that   came  to 


312  Universal  Spiritualism 

Hydesville  like  messengers  from  the  tear  lands  of  the 
tombs,  came  to  bring  messages — messages  of  holiest 
memories.  This  was  the  Epiphany,  the  Easter  morning 
of  the  thinking,  stirring  nineteenth  century  !  It  was 
the  golden  dawn,  the  opening  cycle  of  a  newer  and 
higher  dispensation,  ringing  the  death  knell  of  a  dreary 
materialism  and  a  creedal,  soul  crushing  sectarianism. 

In  the  Judsean  dust-buried  past,  women  were  last  at 
the  cross  and  first  at  the  grave ;  so,  in  this  age,  women 
— the  Fox  sisters — after  hearing  the  sounds,  were  the 
first  to  discover  the  new  alphabet — the  first  to  translate 
those  rappings  into  intelligent  language,  thus  cabling  the 
ocean  of  doubt,  and  bridging  the  chilling  river  of  death, 
thereby  enabling  mortals  and  immortals  to  stand  con- 
sciously face  to  face,  re-clasping  hands — the  white  hands 
of  their  dead — and  reaffirming  their  undying  loves  and 
affections.  As  God  is  the  soul,  the  spirit,  interpermeating 
all  nature.  Spiritualism  is  necessarily  naturalism.  Nature 
is  a  divine  unity.  The  chain  of  causes  has  no  missing 
links.  Law  is  as  continuous  as  it  is  immutable.  All  the 
good  of  the  old  times  remains.  Principles  never  die; 
and  so  of  human  beings — there  are  no  dead.  The  Spir- 
itualism of  to-day  has  absolutely  demonstrated  this  to  be 
a  fact.  Shout,  then,  O  ye  nations,  the  song  of  triumph ; 
for  Death,  the  King  of  Terrors,  is  conquered  !  Creeds 
are  doomed.  The  devil  of  mythology  is  defeated,  and 
the  fiery  scarecrow,  hell,  is  transfigured  into  lovely 
Gehenna  gardens  and  vineyards,  where  purpling  grapes 
grow  in  richest  luxuriance  just  outside  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem. 

A  few  years  since  I  was  in  the  Judaea  of  the  ancient 
Scriptures — in  old  Bethlehem,   near  Jerusalem:  and   re- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times    313 

cently,  on  March  31,  1898,  I  was  in  the  new  Bethlehem, 
at  Hydesville,  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.  This  has  now  be- 
come consecrated  ground — consecrated  and  sacred  to 
moral,  mental,  and  spiritual  science,  to  the  brotherhood 
of  races,  to  the  immortality  of  divine  truth,  to  the  match- 
less grandeur  and  glories  of  a  present  angel  ministry,  and 
to  a  sweet  converse  with  those  higher,  heavenly  intelli- 
gencies  that  make  radiant  the  highlands  of  immortality. 
Hydesville  is  America's  Mecca. 

"  The  philosophy  of  modern  Spiritualism  and  the  phi- 
losophy of  Christianity  during  the  first  three  centuries 
are  in  perfect  accord.  Spiritualists  believe  in  God — a 
personal  God,  basing  that  personality,  not  upon  form,  or 
shape,  or  mere  avoirdupois,  but  upon  consciousness,  in- 
telligence, will  and  purpose.  They  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  accepting  Peter's  definition — **  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
a  man  approved  of  God  among  you  by  wonders,  and  mir- 
acles and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him."  Jesus'  sym- 
pathetic character  was  certainly  sweeter,  diviner,  than 
that  of  the  masses  of  men.  Angels  daily  walked  and 
talked  with  him.  Subordinating  the  earthly  to  the 
spiritual,  fraternal  love  with  him  soon  bloomed  out  into 
the  universal.  Quick  to  feel  the  sorrows  of  others,  the 
sensitive  tendrils  of  his  loving  heart,  constantly  attuned 
and  tremulously  responsive,  vibrated  to  every  sound  of 
human  suffering.  He  identified  himself  with  sorrow 
and  disgrace,  with  humanity  in  its  lowest  estate,  that 
he  might  the  more  successfully  exert  the  healing,  sav- 
ing, love  power  of  his  soul  in  the  redemption  of  the 
erring. 

Considered    with    reference  to    religious    cycles,    Jesus 
stood  upon  the  pinnacle  of  Hebrew  Spiritualism,  the  great 


314  Universal  Spiritualism 

Judaean  Spiritualist  of  that  era.  As  God  is  Spirit — that 
is,  the  Infinite  Spirit-presence  acting  by  the  law  of  me- 
diation— an  apostle,  with  a  singular  clearness  of  percep- 
tion, pronounced  the  Nazarene  a  ''  Mediator  " — that  is, 
a  "medium" — between  God  and  men.  The  persecuted 
and  martyred  mediums  of  one  age  become  gods  in  suc- 
ceeding ages.  Such  manifest  the  world's  lack  of  both 
justice  and  wisdom. 

But  if  Jesus  was  only  divine  man,  elder  brother, 
wherein,  then,  you  will  perhaps  inquire,  consisted  his 
moral  superiority  over  others  of  that  era  ?  If  I  rightly 
understand  his  essential  and  peculiar  characteristics,  his 
preeminent  greatness  consisted  in  his  fine  harmonial 
organization ;  in  a  constant  overshadowing  of  angehc 
influences ;  in  the  depth  of  his  spirituality  and  love ;  in 
the  keenness  of  his  moral  perceptions ;  in  the  expansive- 
ness  and  warmth  of  his  sympathies ;  in  his  unshadowed 
sincerity  of  heart ;  in  his  deep  schooling  into  the  spiritual 
gifts  of  Essenian  circles ;  in  his  soul-pervading  spirit  of 
obedience  to  the  mandates  of  right  manifest  in  himself; 
in  his  unwearied,  self-forgetting,  self-sacrificing  devotion 

/to   the   welfare  of  universal    humanity,   and    his   perfect 

'  trust  in  God. 

The  leading  thoughts  ever  burning  in  his  being  for 
acceptance  and  actualization  were  in  the  divine  Father- 

jhood  of  God,  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man,  the  per- 
petual ministry  of  angels  and  spirits,  and  the  absolute 
necessity  of  toleration,  charity,  forgiveness,  love — in  a 
word,  good  works.  These,  crystalizing  into  action  as  a 
reform-force  for  human  education  and  redemption,  I  de- 
nominate the  positive  religion,  and  consider  it  perfectly 
synonymous  with  Spiritualism — Spiritualism  as  a  definition 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   315 

and  practical  power  in  its  best  and  highest  estate.  This 
pure  religion  and  undefiled,  established  in  men's  hearts 
and  lives,  and  not  on  "sacred"  parchments,  would  soon 
be  felt  in  states  and  kingdoms,  promoting  peace,  justice 
and  charity;  rendering  legal  enactments  wise  and  human- 
itarian, and  causing  the  sweet  waters  of  concord  and 
good-will  to  flow  over  all  the  earth  for  the  spiritual 
healing  and  moral  uplifting  of  the  nations. 

Few  Spiritualists  have  yet  reached  the  sublime  altitudes 
of  that  positive  or  universal  religion  whose  co-assistant  is 
science,  whose  creed  is  freedom,  whose  psalm  is  love,  and 
whose  only  prayer  is  holy  work  for  human  good.  The 
best  have  not  yet  entered  the  vestibule  of  perfection. 
The  ideal  stretches  afar  in  the  golden  distance.  That 
there  are  extravagances,  frauds,  wild  theories,  and  moral 
excrescences  sheltering  themselves  under  the  wide-spread 
wing  of  Spiritualism,  is  freely  admitted.  This  is  com- 
mon in  all  new  movements  involving  the  activities  of  the 
emotional  nature.  Let  only  the  sinless  stone  the  erring. 
** Jesus,"  says  the  record,  ''came  into  the  world  not  to 
condemn,  but  to  save  the  world."  Because  the  millennium 
has  not  dawned  during  this  first  phenomenal  cycle  of 
modern  Spiritualism;  because  the  temple  with  its  inner 
glories  is  as  yet  only  seen  in  vision ;  because  our  fondest 
hopes  are  not  realized,  nor  our  lofty  ideas  attained,  shall 
we  go  back  to  the  beggarly  elements  of  the  world,  and 
seek  spiritual  nourishment  from  rechewing  old  sectarian 
husks?  Only  in  weakness  and  blindness  does  human 
nature  seek  a  return  to  the  flesh-pots  of  the  past.  If 
Spiritualists  are  not  free,  generous,  tolerant,  and  prosper- 
ous ;  if  they  are  not  above  the  level  of  the  age  in  good 
works   in  order  and  fitness,  in  reform  effort  and  general 


3i6  Universal  Spiritualism 

culture ;  if  they  are  not  the  ready  recipients  of  the  freshest 
fruits  of  science  and  philosophy ;  if  they  are  not  full- 
grown,  harmonial  men  and  women,  the  fault  is  not  in 
Spiritualism,  but  in  themselves.  '' Examine  yourselves," 
was  a  good  old  apostolic  injunction.  Spiritualism  can 
gain  nothing  by  aping  the  ecclesiastical  customs  of  other 
denominations.  Awkward  combinations  are  ever  to  be 
avoided.  While  it  is  true  that  master-builders  are  con- 
structionists. Spiritualism  must  never  adopt  any  measures 
for  cramping  the  unfolding  intellect,  nor  strive  to  utter  the 
shibboleth  of  any  man-made  form  of  faith  ;  for,  in  the 
introduction  of  this  modern  wave  of  Spiritualism  upon 
earth,  the  angels  of  heaven  purposed  the  formation  of 
no  new  sect.  Their  aim,  higher  and  holier,  was  to  edu- 
cate, enlighten,  and  spiritualize  God's  dear  humanity. 

These  are  among  the  divine  enunciations  of  that  positive 
rehgion,  based  upon  the  immutable  principles  of  justice, 
goodness,  and  human  rights : 

God  immanent  and  active  in  all  things ; 

Man  above  all  institutions ; 

The  strict  equality  of  the  sexes. 

*'  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 
Father  is  this :  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  the  widows 
in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world." 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart." 

''By  this  shall  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if 
ye  have  loved  one  another." 

Self-abnegation  being  the  first  law  of  life,  the  highest 
good  consists  in  aiding  and  doing  good  to  others. 

"Inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world ;  for  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times    317 

gave  me  meat ;  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink ;  a  stran- 
ger, and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me ; 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me  ;  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
me.  .  .  .  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  these  things  to 
the  least  of  one  of  these  my  servants,  ye  have  done  them 
unto  me." 

This  is  the  religion  of  Jesus,  the  religion  of  the  soul, 
the  inborn  religion  of  all  men.  Its  witnesses  have  been 
the  luminous  suns  and  stars  along  the  ages.  When 
J.  G.  Whittier,  accompanied  by  an  English  philanthropist, 
visited  that  eminent  Unitarian,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Channing, 
for  the  last  time  in  Rhode  Island,  their  themes  of  con- 
versation were  reform,  progress,  peace,  toleration,  and 
human  sympathy.  Whittier,  referring  to  it  afterwards, 
wrote  these  tender  lines  : 

"  No  bars  of  sect  or  clime  were  felt  — 

The  Babel  strife  of  tongues  had  ceased  — 
And  at  one  common  altar  knelt 
The  Quaker  and  the  Priest." 

Thus  may,  thus  do,  the  hearts  of  the  good  and  erudite 
ever  blend  in  union.  Such  fellowship  constitutes  heaven 
upon  earth.  When  the  white  feet  of  the  venerable  Will- 
iam Howitt  pressed  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  summerland, 
the  angels  that  make  radiant  the  upper  kingdoms  of  God 
did  not  inquire,  "  Were  you  on  earth  Catholic,  Protestant, 
Spiritualist,  Materialistic  Spiritualist,  or  Christian  Spirit- 
ualist? "  but  ''Were  you  a  true  man,  a  lover  of  humanity, 
and  a  brother  of  mercy  ?  "  "  Then  shall  the  King  say, 
Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father."  Love  was  the  test  of 
discipleship  in  Christ's  time.     Purity  was  and  is  the  test 


318  Universal  Spiritualism 

of  heavenly  acceptance  in  all  spheres  of  existence. 
Listen  : 

"Lovest  thou  me  ?  " 

*'  Love  is  the  fulfiUing  of  the  law." 

"Love  worketh  no  ill  to  its  neighbor." 

**  If  ye  love  me  keep  my  commandments." 

"  Not  every  one  that  saith  Lord,  Lord  !  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of 
my  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 

If  you  cannot  walk  peaceably  and  religiously  with  your 
brother,  good  reader,  go  your  own  way,  kindly  leaving 
the  road.  Heaven,  as  London,  may  be  reached  from 
different  directions. 

Made  subject  to  vanity,  experimenting  and  journeying 
through  the  world  of  shadows,  all  need  the  staff  of 
prayer  and  the  lamp  of  faith — need  to  feel  that  God  is  a 
constant  presence ;  that  Christ  is  the  light  of  truth ;  and 
that  loving  angels  are  waiting  to  minister  to  our  spiritual 
wants.  A  life  without  love  and  trust,  even  if  it  be  of 
the  strictest  morality,  or  of  a  continual  ascetic  struggle 
after  Divine  communion,  will  never  bring  the  individual 
really  into  the  Inner  Temple.  Little  children  symbolize 
the  receptivities  of  the  heavenly  life.  The  humble  heart, 
sheltered  from  the  storms  of  passion,  and  all  vestured 
with  the  fragrant  blossoms  of  sweet  human  affections,  is 
often  nearer  in  spirit  to  the  angels  than  the  cold 
philosopher.  Love  inspires,  wisdom  guides,  faith  opens 
the  gate,  and  self-sacrifice  leads  the  way  into  the  City 
of  Peace — the  City  of  God.  Oh,  come,  let  us  worship  in 
this  temple  of  Spiritualism — this  temple  of  eternal  religion 
— a  temple  whose  foundations  are  deep  and  wide  as  the 
nature  of  man,  and  whose  dome,  reaching  into  the  heaven 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   319 

of  heavens,  shall  shelter  and  overshadow  the  races  with 
millennial  glory. 

When  genuine  Spiritualism — the  universal  religion  of 
love — shadowed  in  twilight  by  Indian  sages,  seen  in  in- 
creasing sunlight  by  Syrian  seers,  and  consciously  felt 
to-day  by  the  more  highly-inspired — becomes  actualized 
in  and  out  wrought  through  the  personal  lives  of  earth's 
surging  millions,  it  will  no  longer  be  selfishly  said, 
''Mine,  mine,"  but  "Ours,  yours,  all  who  appropriate  it 
for  holy  uses."  Then  our  country  will  be  the  universe, 
our  home  the  world,  and  our  rest  wherever  a  human 
heart  beats  in  sympathy  with  our  own,  and  the  highest 
happiness  of  each  will  be  found  to  consist  in  aiding  and 
blessing  others.  Then  will  the  soil  be  as  free  for  all  to 
cultivate  as  the  air  they  breathe;  gardens  will  blossom 
and  bear  fruit  for  the  most  humble ;  orphans  will  find 
homes  of  tenderest  sympathy  in  all  houses ;  the  tanned 
brows  of  toiling  millions  will  be  wreathed  with  the  white 
roses  of  peace;  and  the  great  family  of  humanity  will  be 
obedient  to  and  trust  in  love,  law,  liberty — God  !  In 
holiest  fellowship  with  Jesus  and  the  angels,  with  loved 
and  loving  spirits,  and  upon  the  tender  bosom  of  the 
Infinite,  is  my  soul's  rest  forever  ! 

/  Probably  the  best  medium  that  graced  the  nineteenth 
century  was  W.  Stainton  Moses.  Educated  at  Oxford, 
and  for  a  time  connected  with  London  University  College, 
he  was  a  clairvoyant,  trance,  clairaudient,  automatic- 
writing  medium.  His  mediumistic  superiority  consisted 
largely  in  living  a  good  life  and  adding  to  his  medium- 
ship  culture  and  scholarship.  He  was  for  years  editor  of 
London  Light,  pages  of  his  automatic  writings  appearing 
in  its  columns.     Honored  by  his  friendship,  I  take  pleasure 


320  Universal  Spiritualism 

in  presenting  the  following  communications  from  his  spirit- 
friend  "  Imperator  "  : 

"It  is  part  of  our  mission  to  teach  the  religion  of  the 
body  as  well  as  of  the  soul.  We  proclaim  to  you  and  to 
all  that  due  care  of  the  body  is  an  essential  prerequisite 
to  the  progress  of  the  soul.  Jesus  was  a  physician  to 
both  body  and  soul.  Man  has  gradually  built  around 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  a  wall  of  deduction,  speculation, 
and  material  comment  similar  to  that  with  which  the 
Pharisees  had  surrounded  the  Mosaic  law.  It  is  our 
task  to  do  for  Christianity  what  Jesus  did  for  Judaism. 
We  would  take  the  old  forms  and  spiritualize  their  mean- 
ings and  infuse  into  them  new  life.  Resurrection  rather 
than  abolition  is  what  we  desire.  We  say  again  that  we 
would  not  abolish  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the  teachings  which 
the  Christ  gave  to  the  world.  We  do  but  wipe  away 
man's  material  gloss  and  show  you  the  hidden  spiritual 
meaning  which  he  has  missed. 
f  ''This  was  the  mission  of  Christ.  He  claimed  for 
\  himself  that  fulfilment  of  the  law,  not  its  abolition  or 
(  abrogation,  was  his  intent.  He  pointed  out  the  truth 
which  was  at  the  root  of  the  Mosaic  commandment.  He 
stripped  off  the  rags  of  pharisaical  ritual,  the  glosses  of 
rabbinical  speculation,  and  laid  bare  the  divine  truth 
which  was  beneath  all,  the  grand  principles  divinely  in- 
spired which  man  has  nearly  buried.  He  was  not  only  a 
religious  but  a  social  reformer,  and  the  grand  business 
of  his  life  was  to  elevate  the  people,  spirit  and  body ;  to 
expose  pretenders,  and  to  strip  off  the  mask  of  hypocrisy  ; 
to  take  the  foot  of  the  despot  from  the  neck  of  the 
struggling  slave,  and  make  man  free  by  virtue  of  that 
truth  which  he  came  from  God  to  declare.     *Ye  shall 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   321 

know  the  truth,'  he  told  his  followers,  'and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free;  and  ye  shall  be  free  indeed.' 

"  He  reasoned  of  life  and  death  and  eternity ;  of  the  true 
nobility  and  dignity  of  man's  nature;  of  the  way  to  pro- 
gressive knowledge  of  God.  He  came  as  the  Great  Ful- 
filler  of  the  law;  the  man  who  showed,  as  never  man 
showed  before,  the  end  for  which  the  law  was  given — the 
amelioration  of  humanity.  He  taught  men  to  look  into 
the  depths  of  their  hearts,  to  test  their  lives,  to  try  their 
motives  and  to  weigh  all  they  did  by  one  ascertained  bal- 
ance— the  fruits  of  life  as  the  test  of  religion.  He  told 
men  to  be  humble,  merciful,  truthful,  pure,  self-denying, 
honest  in  heart  and  intent ;  and  he  set  before  them  a  living 
example  of  the  life  which  he  preached. 

*'  He  was  the  great  social  reformer,  whose  object  was  at 
least  as  much  to  benefit  man  corporeally,  and  to  reveal  to 
him  a  salvation  from  bigotry,  selfishness,  and  narrow-mind- 
edness in  this  life,  as  it  was  to  reveal  glimpses  of  a  better 
life  in  the  hereafter.  He  preached  the  religion  of  daily 
life,  the  moral  progress  of  the  spirit  in  the  path  of  daily 
duty  forward  to  a  higher  knowledge.  Repentance  for  the 
past,  amendment  and  progress  in  the  future,  summed  up 
most  of  his  teaching.  He  found  a  world  buried  in  igno- 
rance, at  the  mercy  of  an  unscrupulous  priesthood  in  mat- 
ters religious  ;  under  the  absolute  sway  of  a  tryant  in  mat- 
ters political.  He  taught  liberty  in  both.  He  labored  to 
show  the  dignity  of  man.  He  would  elevate  him  to  the 
true  dignity  of  the  truth — the  truth  which  should  make 
him  free.  He  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  He  chose  his 
apostles  and  associates  from  the  mean  and  poor.  He  lived 
among  the  common  people ;  of  them,  with  them,  in  their 
homes,  teaching  the  simple  lessons  of  truth  which  they 


322  Universal  Spiritualism 

needed,  and  which  they  could  receive.  He  went  but  little 
among  those  whose  eyes  were  blinded  by  the  mists  of  or- 
thodoxy, respectability,  or  so-called  human  wisdom.  He 
fired  the  hearts  of  his  listeners  with  a  yearning  for  some- 
thing nobler,  better,  higher,  than  they  yet  possessed,  and 
he  told  them  how  to  get  it. 

"  The  gospel  of  humanity  is  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  the  only  gospel  that  man  needs ;  the  only  one  that  can 
reach  his  wants  and  minister  to  his  necessities. ' ' 

We  continue  to  preach  the  same  evangel.  By  commis- 
sion from  the  same  God,  by  authority  from  the  same  source, 
do  we  come  now  as  apostles  of  this  heaven-sent  gospel. 
We  declare  truths,  the  same  as  Jesus  taught.  We 
preach,  through  this  medium,  his  gospel,  purified  from  the 
glosses  and  misinterpretations  which  man  has  gathered 
around  it.  We  would  spiritualize  that  which  man  has  hid- 
den under  the  heap  of  materialism. 

''  I  inquired,"  said  Stainton  Moses,  ''whether  I  rightly 
understood  that  the  work  of  teaching,  a  section  of  which  is 
under  the  direction  of  Imperator,  derived  its  mission  from 
Christ." 

'*  You  understand  aright.  I  have  before  said  that  I  de- 
rive my  mission,  and  am  influenced  in  my  work,  by  a  spirit 
who  has  passed  beyond  the  spheres  of  work  into  the  higher 
heaven  of  contemplation.  .  .  .  Jesus  Christ  is  now 
arranging  his  plans  for  the  gathering  of  his  people,  for  the 
further  revelation  of  the  truth  as  well  as  for  the  purging 
away  of  the  erroneous  beliefs  which  have  accumulated  in 
the  past. 

"This  is  the  second  coming — a  coming  in  power  and 
glory — a  coming  of  ministering  angels  and  spirits — a  com- 
ing to  morally  and  spiritually  enlighten  all  conscious  intel- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   323 

ligenres.  It  is  the  overshadowing  return  of  the  living 
Christ.  There  will  be  no  such  personal  return  as  theolo- 
gians have  taught.  This  will  be,  and  is,  the  spiritual  re- 
turn to  his  people,  by  the  voice  of  his  messengers  speaking 
to  those  whose  ears  are  open ;  even  as  he  said,  '  He  that 
hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear ;  and  he  that  is  able  to  re- 
ceive it,  let  him  receive  it.'  " 

Spiritualism  is  the  opposite  of,  and  strongly  antagonistic 
to,  materialism.  When  scientists  talk  of  the  potencies  in 
matter,  of  co-relations  and  polarities,  they  are  talking  all 
unwittingly  of  spirit ;  for  all  potency  as  a  finality  belongs 
to  the  almost  incomprehensible  realm  of  Spirit,  which  is  a 
factor  in  every  phenomenon  of  nature,  and  is  essential  to 
the  ascertainment  and  record  of  every  natural  law ;  and  the 
knightly  champions  of  science  are  just  beginning  to  under- 
stand it. 

The  Kosmos  is  a  unity,  threefold  in  manifestation.  Sub- 
stance is  the  One,  the  All  Spirit,  Soul,  matter  1  We  are 
spirits  now — spirits  vestured  in  material,  everchanging  sub- 
stances. We  are  spirits  with  souls  vibrating  in  touch  with 
the  Universal  Soul — with  Immortality.  A  man  can  no 
more  help  being  immortal  than  the  buds  can  help  unfold- 
ing and  blowing  beneath  spring's  refreshing  showers  and 
the  sun's  genial  rays.  Who  that  has  drunk  from  this  foun- 
tain of  eternal  life — who  that  has  held  an  hour's  commun- 
ion with  departed  loved  ones  does  not  say  to  the  world,  "  I 
am  glad,  oh  !  so  glad,  that  I  am  a  Spiritualist  !  "  And 
who  does  not  say,  *<  Blessed,  ever  blessed  be  this  divine 
truth  of  Spiritualism  !  " 

Spiritualists  !  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world  and  of  the 
angels  above  are  upon  you  !  Conduct  yourselves,  then, 
like   men.      So   guide   your   barques   that,    though   they 


J 


324  Universal  Spiritualism 

flounder  in  the  tempestuous  seas  of  temptation,  they  may 
soon  right  themselves  for  a  better,  safer,  voyage.     Live  to- 
day for  to-morrow,  for  eternity.     Be  above  the  commission 
of  an  unworthy  act;  indulge  in  no  ignoble  insinuations; 
\  take  no  selfish  advantages  of  the  weaknesses  of  your  fellow 
men  ;   sacrifice  coveted  comforts   for  the  good  of  others  ; 
seek  no  praise  nor  fulsome  flattery  ;  intrigue  for  no  office ; 
\  partake  of  the  bread  of  honest  labor  only ;  administer  re- 
I   proof  in  gentleness  and  love ;  forgive  as  you  would  be  for- 
l  given ;   be  kind  to  the  poor,  the  unfortunate,  the  sick,  the 
dying ;    live  to  lift   them   to  higher  planes  of  health  and 
happiness;   live  to   brighten   the  chain  of  human  friend- 
ships ;  live  to  educate  mind,  heart,  and  soul  for  the  realiza- 
^  tion   of  a   heaven    on    earth ;    plant    gardens  of  love    in 
y    unhappy  bosoms ;    scatter  gems  of  good  will  and  roses  of 
\  kindness  along  your  daily  walks  of  life ;  think  only  good 
/   thoughts,  and  ever  welcome  the  angels  to  your  hearts  and 
to  your  souls  as  the  loved  messengers  of  God.     These  are 
the  teachings  and  principles  of  practical  Spiritualism. 

The  above  magnificent  address  is  presented  to  our 
readers  as  a  splendid  example  of  the  attitude  taken  to  life 
in  general  by  the  most  widely  traveled  of  all  American 
Spiritualists,  the  venerable  and  gracious  '*  Spiritual  Pil- 
grim." 

During  Dr.  Peebles'  third  trip  around  the  world,  he 
studied  and  noted  the  laws,  customs  and  religions  of 
nations  and  peoples,  giving  special  attention  to  Spiritual- 
ism, Magic,  Theosophy,  and  reform  movements.  He 
visited  Ceylon,  India,  Persia,  Egypt,  Syria,  and  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  and  secured  much  material,  which  has 
been  embodied  in  a  large  octavo  volume,  containing  thirty- 


Spiritualism  in  All  Lands  and  Times   325 

five  chapters,  and  treating  on  the  following  subjects : 
Home  Life  in  California ;  My  third  Voyage ;  The  Sand- 
wich Islands ;  The  Pacific  Island  Races  ;  Ocean  bound  to- 
wards Aukland,  New  Zealand,  Melbourne,  Australia ;  From 
New  Zealand  Onward  ;  A  series  of  Spiritual  Seances  upon 
the  Ocean  ;  The  Chinese  Orient ;  Chinese  Religions  and  In- 
stitutions ;  Cochin  China  to  Singapore  ;  Malacca  to  India  ; 
Spiritual  Seances  on  the  Indian  Ocean  ;  India  :  Its  History 
and  Treasures ;  India's  Religions,  Morals,  and  Social 
Characteristics;  The  Rise  of  Buddhism  in  India;  The 
Brahmo-Somaj  and  Parsees ;  Spiritualism  in  India ;  From 
India  to  Arabia;  Aden  and  the  Arabs;  The  City  of  Cairo, 
Egypt ;  Egypt's  Catacombs  and  Pyramids ;  Appearance  of 
the  Egyptians ;  Study  of  the  Pyramids  ;  Sight  of  the  Great 
Pyramids ;  Ancient  Science  in  Egypt ;  Astronomy 
of  the  Egyptians  ;  From  Alexandria  to  Joppa  and  Jerusa- 
lem ;  the  City  of  Joppa ;  City  of  Prophets  and  Apostles  ; 
Jesus  and  Jerusalem ;  Present  Gospels  ;  the  Christianity  of 
the  Ages  ;  Plato  and  Jesus  in  contrast ;  Turkey  in  Asia  ; 
Ionia  and  the  Greeks ;  Athens ;  Europe  and  its  Cities  ; 
Ceylon  and  its  Buddhists  ;  the  India  of  To-day  ;  Hindoo 
Doctrines  of  the  Dead  ;  the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  Egypt 
and  Antiquity.     Price,  $1.50. 

Dr.   Peebles'  address  is  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  where 
his  highly  valuable  works  are  published. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

DR.  J.  M.  PEEBLES  ON  THE  NATURE  AND 
PREEXISTENCE  OF  THE  SOUL 

Non  Mi  Ricordo,  ''  I  do  not  remember."  Granted — 
but  that  does  not  disprove  an  eternal  past  existence.  You 
do  not  remember  your  past  foetal  life,  nor  your  nine  months 
placenta  life;  nor  do  you  remember  your  baby  life, 
nor  your  early  childhood  life.  But  this  counts  for  noth- 
ing against  your  existence  during  all  these  periods.  You 
nevertheless  have  access  to  an  ample  amount  of  evi- 
dence that  your  existence  traversed  all  these  stages — 
evidence  that  your  personality  was  prior  to  your  conscious 
memory  of  it.  Because  this  inmost  spirit  cannot  project 
itself  through  its  clumsy,  clayish  environment  into  the  ex- 
ternal with  sufficient  vividness  to  remember  the  past  and 
express  it,  is  no  evidence  that  the  individualized  spirit  did 
not  exist.  Non-existence  is  unthinkable.  And  yet  think- 
ing is  as  natural  as  breathing.  Only  circles  are  endless. 
All  beginnings  in  time  and  space  necessarily  have  their 
endings.  A  creature  which  has  its  beginning  in  time  is 
incapable  of  perpetuating  itself  or  being  perpetuated  through 
eternity.  A  line  projected  from  a  point  in  space  has  a 
further  limit  which  no  logic  can  carry  to  infinitude. 
Whether  or  not  "God  geometrizes, "  that  cannot  be  mor- 
ally and  physiologically  false  which  is  mathematically  true. 
Though  on  different  planes  of  thought  morals  and  mathe- 
matics harmonize.  The  universe  is  not  a  dual-verse  of 
infinite  inharmonies. 

326 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    327 

I  may  here  remark  that  two  fundamental  assumptions 
lie  at  the  threshold  of  man's  introduction  into  this  world. 
The  first  is,  that  his  subjective  existence  antedates  his 
objective  appearance.  That  as  an  ego  he  is  coexistent 
with  the  universe,  and  participates  in  that  universal  and 
eternal  life  which  is  perpetually  manifest  in  the  kosmos. 

The  second  assumption,  is  that  man  as  to  his  essential 
form  or  personality  is  derivative ;  that  his  earliest  intro- 
duction into  the  world  and  the  universe  is  when  he  is  born 
of  a  physical  mother ;  that  his  conscious  entity  is  depend- 
ent upon  and  dates  its  beginning  with  the  visible  appear- 
ance of  the  physical  organism.  According  to  this  assump- 
tion the  material  atoms  and  forces  which  have  transiently 
converged  in  the  human  organism,  with  no  promise  of 
anything  more  than  a  limited  persistence,  were  once  con- 
glomerated with  the  cosmic  mass  as  a  portion  of  its  undif- 
ferentiated substance.  And  this  derivative  hypothesis 
further  assumes  that  the  purpose  of  this  single  birth  is  to 
specialize  a  portion  of  the  organizable  pabulum  of  the 
general  kosmos  into  human  shape,  that  it  may  manifest  the 
attributes  of  self- consciousness.  The  personality  is  coex- 
istent with  this  body  organism,  commenced  its  existence 
with  it,  and  must  have  its  share  in  its  vicissitudes  and  final 
destruction.  Is  it  surprising  that  such  a  materialistic 
philosophy  should  yield  its  abundant  crop  of  atheists  ? 

With  the  wisest  of  the  Greek  philosophers,  diversity, 
individuality,  was  as  fundamental  as  unity ;  but  with  our 
modern  scientists,  individuality  is  purely  derivative.  The 
Darwinian  school  of  writers  assume  that  our  world  and 
solar  system,  together  with  the  kingdoms  of  life,  nay,  even 
the  genius  of  Homer,  Raphael  and  Shakespeare  were  once 
latent  in  a  fiery  cloud.     All  specific  forms,  say  they,  came 


328  Universal  Spiritualism 

by  development,  they  arose  by  insensible  modifications 
wrought  in  an  originally  homogeneous  substance.  That 
also  was  the  philosophy  of  certain  ancient  Hindoos.  That 
was  the  philosophy  of  Spinoza.  That,  too,  is  the  philosophy 
of  Herbert  Spencer  and  of  Darwin's  disciples.  Darwin's 
qualification  to  the  effect  that  God  originally,  and,  I  may 
add,  miraculously,  created  a  few  germs,  as  a  basis  from 
which  to  evolve  future  distinctions  and  organic  formations, 
does  not  redeem  his  theory  from  that  pantheistic  conception 
which  is  its  very  root  and  essence.  And  what  is  more,  it 
is  the  pantheism  of  materialism. 

Spinoza  and  the  pantheistic  philosophers  of  India  taught 
in  harmony  with  the  logical  implications  of  their  philosophy. 
They  were  materialists.  Inasmuch  as  types,  or  essential 
forms,  with  them,  were  not  coexistent  with  substance,  but 
effects,  or  derivative  results,  consequent  upon  the  differ- 
entiation and  integration  of  substance ;  so  these  beginnings 
necessitated  endings.  Forms  were  ephemeral.  Their  des- 
tiny was  to  suffer  resolution  into  the  primitive  substance. 
/  Future  immortality  implies  a  preexistent,  or  past  im- 
/mortality.  And  the  attempt  to  reconcile  man's  future 
immortality  with  Darwinism  is  much  like  Hugh  Miller's 
effort  to  reconcile  geology  and  Genesis.  It  seems  clear  to 
me,  that  if  a  protoplastic  formation  originated,  evolved  and 
built  up  essential  man,  involving  the  personal  identity,  it 
may,  and  necessarily  must,  by  the  law  of  involution,  return 
again  to  protoplasm. 

It  was  precisely  upon  this  point  that  Agassiz  took  issue 
with  Darwin.  The  former  held  with  Plato  that  ideas  and 
ultimate  forms  were  coexistent  with  substance.  He  taught 
that  they  had  a  spiritual  basis,  antedating  their  material 
embodiments.     It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  man  existed 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    329 

in  essence  before  he  became  a  personal  identity.  If  that 
identity  was  produced,  if  it  be  a  result,  an  effect,  conse- 
quent upon  molecular  action,  or  material  change,  then  no 
<*  key-stone"  in  the  arch-way  of  organization  will  insure 
that  identity  from  final  resolution  into  that  "  fiery  cloud  '* 
in  which  Tyndal  informs  us  the  genius  of  Raphael  and 
Shakespeare  were  once  latent. 

Individuals  favoring  the  Darwinian  school  of  materialism 
and  believing  derivative  personality  ask  for  facts  in  proof 
of  preexistence,  by  which  they  doubtless  mean  facts  ad- 
dressed to  the  perceptive  intellect.  But  I  submit  that  facts 
of  the  sensuous  order  are  quite  incompetent  to  prove  or 
disprove /truths  which  address  themselves  to  the  highest 
reason.  ^  To  me  the  facts  of  consciousness  and  intuition 
are  more  authoritative  and  imperial  than  those  appealing 
to  the  fallible  senses. 

Scholars,  thinkers  and  metaphysicians  of  all  schools 
recognize  three  orders  of  evidence  which  may  be  com- 
petent to  influence  the  judgment. 

1.  Evidence  addressed  to  the  senses. 

2.  Evidence  addressed  to  the  conscious  understanding. 

3.  Evidence  addressed  to  the  higher  reason  in  the 
form  of  axioms  and  intuitions. 

The  demand  for  facts  of  external  observation  in  proof 
of  those  higher  truths  of  relation  and  of  consciousness 
which  can  only  be  apprehended  by  the  higher  reason,  will 
not  be  gratified,  at  least,  in  the  present  condition  of  hu- 
manity. The  problem  of  preexistence  is  included  in  the 
provinces  of  mental  science,  metaphysics  and  religion, 
rather  than  in  that  of  the  physical  sciences.  ,  Science  may 
afford  important  aid  by  revealing  the  laws  of  movement ; 
but  its  sphere  being  limited  to  the  order  and  sequence  of 


330  Universal  Spiritualism 

phenomena,  it  can  never  reveal  the  nature  of  things  in 
themselves.  I  have  no  expectation  that  the  problem  of 
man's  first  estate  will  ever  have  any  clear  light  thrown 
upon  it  by  recourse  to  such  data  as  material  science  will  be 
able  to  furnish,  for  it  involves  an  ultimate  ground  that  lies 
beyond  the  pale  of  experimental  research.  A  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence  in  favor  of  the  truth  of  a  proposition  is 
to  be  found  in  the  extent  of  its  diffusion  and  in  the  degree 
of  its  persistence.  This  is  an  axiomatic  truth  with  Herbert 
Spencer,  (  Now  the  belief  in  the  soul's  preexistence — the 
belief  in  God  and  the  immortality  of  man  have  survived 
the  rise  and  fall  of  empires,  thrones  and  races.  Nor  has 
modern  enlightenment  succeeded  in  driving  them  into  the 
dreamy  haunts  of  superstition,  but  it  has  welcomed,  ex- 
tended and  fortified  these  beliefsy  They  may  be  accepted, 
therefore,  as  foreshadowing,  or  rather,  as  the  synonyms  of 
ultimate  verities. 

v^  I  believe  the  Soul  to  be  an  eternal  entity,  or  unit  from 
eternity.  The  Soul  is  immortal  and  has  its  state  of 
being  within  God.  The  Soul  is  absolute.  Nothing 
can  be  taken  from  it  or  added  to  it.  Its  manifesta- 
tions in  time  proceed  from  sources  that  are  within. 
The  Soul  in  its  quality  is  like  unto  God.  It  is  a  Ray 
which  proceeds  from  God  as  a  central  sun.  Its  being 
is  in  God,  yet  it  is  not  God.  The  essential  nature  of  God 
cannot  be  communicated  through  the  medium  of  human 
speech,  for  it  is  only  known  within  the  Soul.  Knowledge 
proceeds  from  the  known  to  the  unknown.  Revelation 
proceeds  from  the  unknown  to  the  known.  The  conscious- 
ness of  the  universe  is  God ;  the  consciousness  of  man  is 
the  soul.  The  soul  is  the  only  preexisting  entity  except 
God,  having  its  being  in  eternity  and  its  existence  in  time. 


Nature  and  Pre  existence  of  the  Soul    331 

Existing  in  time  the  soul  is  subject  to  limitations,  but  God 
is  the  Absolute  Being  transcending  all  limitations.  The 
soul  is  a  complete  circle,  having  neither  beginning  nor  end- 
ing. God  is  the  sphere  in  which  the  circle  is  repeated  to 
infinity.  But  while  the  soul  abides  in  the  Infinite  it  is 
never  lost  therein.  There  are  no  new  souls  added  to  the 
universe;  none  taken  therefrom.  The  soul  in  its  primal 
nature  does  not  exist  in  time  or  space,  but  in  eternity. 
Only  its  movements  or  manifestations  fall  within  the 
province  of  time  and  space. 

It  will  hence  be  seen  that  the  soul  in  its  first  estate  is  a 
purely  subjective  being  in  the  human  form.  In  this  primal 
state  it  embodies  all  the  attributes  and  qualities  which  we 
can  conceive  of  as  embraced  in  the  kosmos.  It  **is  in 
little  all  the  sphere."  It  is  Plato's  ''  One  and  Many  " — a 
unity  in  which  is  embraced  a  multitude.  All  numbers, 
forms  and  series  inhere  in  this  microcosmic  entity.  Love 
and  Wisdom  are  the  substance  and  form  of  its  existence. 
Love  is  its  substance  and  the  subjective  ground  of  its  being. 
Wisdom  is  its  form  of  existence  and  quality  of  limitation 
that  distinguishes  it  from  all  other  human  entities.  Viewed 
in  one  aspect  the  infinite  multitude  of  souls  in  the  universe 
form  one  complex  and  unitary  body,  each  sharing  the  same 
divine  qualities  with  his  fellow,  which  is  the  ground  of 
their  sociality.  But  viewed  in  another  aspect,  souls  pre- 
sent an  infinite  diversity,  no  two  being  alike,  no  two  pre- 
destined to  perform  identical  offices.  Thus  all  souls  co- 
here in  one  social  solidarity  by  virtue  of  the  principle  of 
Love  which  inheres  alike  in  each.  And  then  again  each 
soul  is  a  Form  per  se,  distinguished  from  all  other  souls 
\by  virtue  of  its  principle  of  Wisdom  or  quality  of  limita- 
'tion.      Hence  each  soul   is  endowed  with   a  specialty  of 


332  Universal  Spiritualism 

genius  which  qualifies  it  for  a  particular  function  and  form 
of  service,  as  a  unit  in  an  affiliated  series  of  the  Societary 
Man.  But  before  the  soul  can  become  equipped  to  con- 
sciously serve  in  its  predestined  place  in  the  universe,  it 
must  perfect  for  itself  a  Body  Form  through  which  it  can 
fully  express  its  subjective  wealth  of  faculty.  This  Body 
Form  will  be  the  final  summing-up  of  the  Soul's  pilgrim- 
ages in  matter.  But  this  branch  of  the  subject  I  will  leave 
for  discussion  in  my  second  paper  of  this  series. 

"  A  keel  grated  on  the  sand, 
Then  a  step  was  on  the  shore  — 
Life  awoke  and  heard  it, 
A  hand  was  laid  upon  her. 
And  a  great  shudder  passed  through  her. 
She  looked  up,  and  saw  over  her 
The  strange,  wide  eyes  of  Love, 
And  Life  knew  for  whom 
She  had  been  waiting, 
And  Love  drew  Life  up  to  him, 
And  of  that  meeting  was  born 
A  thing  rare  and  beautiful  — 
Joy,  First  Joy  was  it  called." 

— Olive  Schreinrer. 

Identity  has  a  deeper  ground  than  the  material  shape 
which  we  associate  with  the  human  body.  It  is  far  deeper 
than  the  trend  given  to  character  through  the  laws  of  he- 
redity, having  its  basis  in  the  self-conscious  ego.  True, 
the  body  to  some  extent  is  a  mirror  or  reflection  of  the  real 
identity,  but  is  neither  its  cause  nor  ground  of  permanence. 
The  body  is  an  aggregation  of  ever  fluctuating  molecules. 
Its  entire  structure  is  changed  at  least  once  in  seven  years, 
and  the  brain,  nerves  and  glands  are  changed  several  times 
within  that  period.     I  repeat,  our  identity  is  in  the  soul 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    333 

and  not  in  the  organic  structure.  It  is  in  the  realm  of  mind 
and  not  in  the  realm  of  matter.  Hence  our  identity  is  not 
a  residuum — a  something  left  over  when  the  material  body 
is  cast  aside.  It  is  not  a  ghost  or  shadow  which  the  or- 
ganism has  bequeathed  to  the  man,  but  a  persistent  form 
having  only  a  temporary  residence  in  the  body  which  body 
is  the  real  shadow  or  ephemeral  appearance. 

Individuality  in  its  primal  meaning  is  monadic  existence. 
The  Latin  Individuus  is  the  opposite  of  Dividuus.  It  em- 
braces that  which  cannot  be  further  dissected.  It  signifies 
the  being  a  one.  We  are  here  brought  back  to  what  I  said 
above  regarding  the  nature  of  the  soul,  namely  :  That  by 
virtue  of  its  wisdom-principle  the  soul  is  a  form  per,  se, 
and  distinguished  from  all  other  souls  by  its  quality  of 
limitation.  Individuality  is  single — the  unit  distinguished 
from  all  other  units  and  from  the  total  aggregate  of  units. 
Therefore  each  individual  soul,  in  its  primal  estate  is  en- 
dowed with  a  specialty  of  genius  which  qualifies  it  for  a 
particular  place  and  function  in  the  universe. 

Personality  in  its  common  and  outward  acceptation  is 
usually  associated  with  appearance  and  outward  character ; 
but  with  such  writers  as  Emerson,  James  Freeman  Clarke, 
Frohschammer,  Elisha  Mulford,  Lotze,  etc.,  Personality 
has  a  far  deeper  meaning.  The  Latins  used  Persona  to 
signify  personating,  counterfeiting,  or  wearing  a  mask. 
But  Personality  in  the  sense  in  which  Emerson  employs  it, 
signifies  true  being,  both  concrete  and  spiritual.  It  alone 
is  original  being.  It  is  not  limited.  Personality  is  that 
universal  element  that  pervades  every  human  soul  and 
which  is  at  once  its  continent  and  ground  of  being.  Dis- 
tinction from  others  and  limitations  by  them  results  from 
Individuality,  not  Personality. 


334  Universal   Spiritualism 

Elisha  Mulford  says :  *'  There  is  in  personality  the 
highest  that  is  within  the  knowledge  of  man.  It  is  the 
steepest,  loftiest  summit  towards  which  we  move  in  our 
attainment." 

Emerson  says:  ''The  personal  within  man  is  the  soul 
of  the  whole;  the  wise  silence;  the  universal  beauty,  to 
which  every  part  and  particle  is  equally  related.  .  .  . 
The  personal  is  not  an  organ,  not  a  function,  not  a  faculty, 
it  is  the  background  of  our  being — an  immensity  not  pos- 
sessed and  that  cannot  be  possessed." 

We  are  here  again  brought  back  to  what  was  said  above, 
that  all  souls  cohere  in  one  social  solidarity  by  virtue  of 
the  principle  of  Love  which  inheres  alike  in  each.  Per- 
sonality therefore  pertains  to  the  substance  of  the  soul  and 
individuality  to  its  form. 

The  magi  of  Persia,  the  priests  of  Egypt,  the  Brahmans 
of  India,  and  Buddhists  of  the  East,  each  and  all  held  to 
some  form  of  the  general  doctrine.  (.  Jesus  recognized  his 
own  preexistence  when  he  spoke  of  the  "glory  he  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was_^y''  Again  he  said : 
''Before  Abraham  was  I  am." 

Ammonius  Saccas,  founder  of  that  school  of  eclectic 
philosophy  known  as  New  Platonism,  and  among  whose 
fdisciples  were  Longinus,  and  Origen,  was  a  believer  of  pre- 
( existence. 

V  Plotinus,  an  eminent  Greek  philosopher,  an  adept  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Oriental  sages,  and  a  teacher  of  philosophy 
at  Rome  from  645  a.  d.,  until  his  death,  was  an  advocate 
of  preexistence.  '^ 

Proclus,  a  student  of  Olympiodorus  at  Alexandria,  and 
of  Plutarchus  at  Athens,  and  for  a  time  at  the  head  of  the 
New  Platonic  schools,  believed  in  preexistence. 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    335 

^  ApoUonius  of  Tyanna,  a  Pythagorean  philosopher  of  the 
first  century,  venerated  for  his  wisdom  by  his  conlempo- 
raries,  and  whose  thriUingly  interesting  Ufe  was  written  by 
Flavins  Philostratus,  was  a  believer  in  and  teacher  of  pre- 
existence. 

Many  of  the  most  enlightened  minds  of  all  countries 
have  taught  that  man's  conscious  self-hood  is  as  much  a 
matter  of  the  past  as  it  is  to  be  of  the  future.  Pythagoras, 
the  founder  of  the  Italic  school  of  Greek  philosophy,  pro- 
fessed to  have  a  distinct  remembrance  of  a  previous  life  or 
lives. 

Plato  believed  that  all  the  knowledge  of  laws  and  princi- 
ples we  seem  to  acquire  in  this  world  is  simply  a  recovery 
or  reminiscence  of  knowledge  which  the  soul  possessed  in 
a  previous  state  of  existence.  Readers  of  Plato  will  re- 
member the  reference  to  "  Meno,"  where  Plato  introduces 
Socrates  as  making  an  experiment,  by  way  of  putting  a 
series  of  questions  to  a  slave  of  Meno,  eliciting  from  the 
uneducated  youth  a  geometrical  truth.  This  done,  Socrates 
triumphantly  observed  to  Meno,  ''  I  have  not  taught  the 
youth  anything;  but  simply  interrogating  him,  he  recalled  the 
knowledge  he  had  in  a  previous  existence."  Plato  further 
taught  that  all  ideas,  types  and  ultimate  forms  both  pre- 
cede and  succeed  their  material  embodiments. 

V  "Our  soul,"  says  Plato,  "  is  a  particle  of  the  Divine 
Breath,  and  therefore  we  are  related  to  God.  Our  soul's 
divine  ideas  are  natural,  and  are  created  by  the  contem- 
plation of  divine  things.  Before  it  was  associated  with 
the  body,  it  existed  in  God  ;  even  now,  though  enveloped 
by  the  body,  it  may  participate  in  that  divine  contempla- 
tion through  the  subjection  of  the  passions,  and  through  a 
contemplative  life." 


33^  Universal  Spiritualism 

In  the  song  of  Amosis  we  read  :  "  Lord  thou  hast  been 
our  dwelling-place  in  all  generations ;  before  the  mountains 
were  brought  forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth 
and  the  world." 

The  most  learned  among  the  Christian  fathers,  such  as 
Origen,  added  to  the  doctrine  of  preexistence,  the  doctrine 
of  Brahminical  reincarnation,  contending  that  souls  having 
sinned  in  their  previous  lives  were  condemned  to  reenter 
human  bodies  in  this  mortal  life  to  expiate  their  former 
guilt. 

Jerome  (340  a.  d.)  said  of  the  above  dogma  which 
prevailed  in  India  and  Egypt:  "This  impious  and 
wicked  doctrine  was  anciently  diffused  through  Egypt  and 
the  East,  and  now  prevails  in  the  secret,  as  in  vipers' 
nests,  among  most,  and  pollutes  the  purity  of  those  regions ; 
and  as  by  a  hereditary  disease  glides  in  the  few  to  pervade 
the  many." 

,  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  in  his  Eclogues,  advocated  the 
soul's  preexistence,  but  stoutly  denied  the  doctrine  of  re- 
incarnation— and  re-reincarnation  of  human  souls.  He 
contended  that  the  passage:  ''There  was  a  man  sent 
from  God ' '  meant  that  the  soul  of  John  the  Baptist  was 
older  than  his  body,  and  was  sent  from  his  former  state. 

Clement  of  the  second  century,  educated  in  the  Pla- 
tonic philosophy,  and  afterwards  a  disciple  of  Pantenus  in 
Alexandria,  said  :  ''Do  we  not  love  God  this  first,  that  we 
exist,  that  we  are  said  to  be  men  ?  That  descending  from 
the  regions  of  light,  or  sent  by  Him,  we  are  held  in  these 
coiporeal  bodies." 

Pamphilas,  who  established  a  flourishing  school  in  Csesa- 
rea,  who  vindicated  Origen  in  five  books,  and  was  martyred 
309  A.  D.,  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the  soul's  preexistence. 


Nature  and  Pre  existence  of  the  Soul    337 

"Does  matter  create  the  soul?"  he  asked.  ''The  house 
resembles  the  idea  that  preceded  it,  and  the  entrance  by  a 
path  from  the  mountains  resembles  the  descent  of  souls 
from  heaven  to  their  lodgment  in  bodies." 
•^  Synesius,  a  Neo-Platonic  philosopher  and  disciple  of 
Hypatia  at  Alexandria,  wrote  largely  in  favor  of  preexist- 
ence.  When  the  citizens  of  Ptolemais  had  invited  him 
to  the  bishopric  among  them,  he  declined  that  dignity,  in 
a  letter  to  his  brother  on  the  subject,  for  this  reason  among 
others,  that  he  cherished  certain  opinions  which  perhaps 
all  would  not  approve,  but  which  he  could  in  no  wise  ab- 
jure, as  after  mature  reflection  they  had  struck  their  roots 
deep  in  his  mind.  First  among  these  he  mentioned  the 
doctrine  of  preexistence.  *'  Assuredly  I  can  never  think 
it  right  to  believe  the  soul  an  after-birth  of  the  body." 
Vestiges  of  this  belief  are  openly  discernible  in  his  writings, 
as,  for  example,  in  the  hymn  of  which  the  following  is  a 
paraphrase : 

'•  Eternal  Mind,  thy  seedling  spark 
Through  this  thin  vase  of  clay. 
Athwart  the  waves  of  chaos  dark 
Emits  a  timorous  ray  ! 

««  Far  forth  from  thee,  thou  central  fire, 
To  earth's  sad  bondage  cast, 
Let  not  the  trembHng  spark  expire — 
Absorb  thine  own  at  last !  " 

The  doctrine  of  the  soul's  preexistence  was  held  by  the 
Jews,  both  before  and  cotemporary  with  the  Apostolic 
period.  It  was  certainly  held  by  the  later  Jews  living  after 
the  times  of  the  Babylonish  captivity.  Among  their  proofs 
they  quote  this  from  the  Book  of  Wisdom  ; 


338  Universal  Spiritualism 

"I  was  an  ingenuous  child,  and  received  a  goo«i  soul ; 
nay  more,   being  good,  I  came  into  a  body  undefiled." 

Writing  of  the  Essenes,  Josephus  says  :  "  For  the  opinion 
obtains  among  them  (the  Essenes)  that  bodies  indeed  are 
corruptible,  and  the  matter  of  them  not  permanent ;  but 
that  souls  continue  exempt  from  death  forever ;  and  that, 
emanating  from  the  most  subtle  ether,  they  are  enfolded 
in  bodies,  as  prisons,  to  which  they  are  drawn  by  some 
natural  spell.  But,  when  loosened  from  the  bonds  of  the 
flesh,  as  if  released  from  a  long  captivity,  they  rejoice, 
and  are  borne  upward.  .  .  .  This  company  of  dis- 
embodied souls  is  distributed  in  different  orders.  The 
law  of  some  of  them  is  to  enter  mortal  bodies,  and, 
after  certain  prescribed  periods,  be  again  set  free.  But 
those  possessed  of  a  diviner  structure  are  absolved  from  all 
local  bonds  of  earth." 

,  Leibnitz,  the  most  profound  philosopher  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  held  the  doctrine  of  preexistence  as  one  of 
his  cardinal  beliefs.  And  to-day,  in  the  full  blaze  of 
scientific  discovery,  there  are  hosts  of  men  famous  for  their 
knowledge  of  the  sciences,  and  eminent  in  religious  culture, 
who  believe  in  a  preexistent  state  of  conscious  existence. 
Among  these  are  Prof.  Redfield,  the  author  and  distin- 
guished physiognomist ;  Charles  and  Edward  Beecher,  lately 
departed  to  the  higher  life;  G.  Groom  Napier  and  Sir 
Thompson  of  England. 

.  Nearly  the  whole  body  of  French  Spiritualists,  includ- 
ing such  men  as  Figuer  and  Camille  Flamarion,  the 
astronomer,  hold  to  the  doctrine.  The  great  Fourier 
taught  it.  The  Spiritualists  of  the  Orient,  and,  to  a  very 
large  extent  of  Continental  Europe,  accept  it. 

Conscious  communion  with  spirits,  not  proving  immor- 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    339 

tality  in  the  sense  of  endless  existence,  does  prove  a  con- 
scious existence  after  death.  And  then,  those  long  inhab- 
iting the  better  land  of  angelic  blessedness,  that  is  to  say, 
ancient  spirits  almost  uniformly  teach  preexistence.  I 
cannot  this  moment  call  to  mind  a  case  to  the  contrary. 
It  is  admitted  that  spirits  of  the  spirit  world  differ  upon 
this  subject ;  and  further,  that  the  testimony  of  spirits  is 
authoritative  only  so  far  as  it  corresponds  with  intuition  and 
the  highest  reason.  Still,  the  persistence  of  an  idea  and 
the  potency  of  intelligent  majorities  necessarily  influ- 
ence convictions.  And  I  am  certain  that  the  general 
tenor  of  the  teachings  of  wise  and  highly  intelligent  spirits 
upon  this  subject  favors  a  preexistent  state  of  being.  Aaron 
Knight,  two  hundred  years  in  spirit  life,  and  whose  iden- 
tity I  took  the  pains  to  establish  when  in  England  several 
years  since,  teaches,  with  the  "brotherhood  of  ancient 
sages,"  preexistence  in  the  most  positive  manner. 

It  is  very  clear  to  profound  thinkers  that  once  in  exist- 
ence as  divine  man,  always  in  existence.  The  converse  is 
equally  true ;  once  absolutely  out  of  existence  never  in  ex- 
istence !  This  logical  bulwark  has  never  been  successfully 
assailed. 

In  the  phrase,  once  in  existence,  always  in  existence,  I 
am  referring  to  conscious,  or  rather  to  divine  man,  and 
not  to  sticks  and  stones,  nor  to  growling  animals  and  sting- 
ing insects.  These  are  fragments — imperfect  structures — 
unfinished  temples.  And  no  one  gifted  with  intelligence 
speaks  of  a  conscious  rock — a  divine  wolf,  or  a  righteous 
dog.  These  are  not,  and  never  were  in  existence  as  con- 
sciously rational  and  morally  progressive  beings.  They 
have  not  the  Spiritual  Keystone.  They  are  not  religious ; 
neither  are  they  conscious  of  their  subordinate  conscious- 


340  Universal  Spiritualism 

ness  !  And  certainly,  no  logician  ever  affirms  of  a  part, 
what  he  does  of  a  whole.  A  slice,  slashed  from  a  golden 
orange,  thin,  irregular,  ill-shaped  and  seedless,  is  not  equal 
to,  nor  should  it  be  compared  with  the  well-rounded 
orange.  Animals,  serpents,  and  noxious  insects,  are  but 
parts,  bearing  the  same  relation  to  man  that  passing 
thoughts  bear  to  ideas,  or  shadows  to  substances.  Animals 
and  insects  were  never  in  existence,  as  perfect  structures, 
as  divine  entities ;  but  rather  as  fleeting  organisms  serving 
temporary  uses. 

Divinity  is  eternal.  An  essential  man  is  constituted  ac- 
cording to  Plato,  of  divine  substance,  form  and  germ ;  and 
further,  with  this  prince  of  thinkers,  essential  forms,  types 
and  ideas,  were  the  same.  Types,  or  ideas,  in  fact,  were 
subjective  realities.  Outworked  they  became  partially  vis- 
ible. Still,  the  type  preceded  and  succeeded  the  visible 
appearance.  The  material  contents  of  form  as  in  the  oak 
or  animal,  are  fleeting,  changing ;  but  the  hidden  essential 
form,  which  is  the  type,  or  idea  is  enduring  and  im- 
mortal. 

Every  argument  against  preexistence,  is  so  far  as  entitled 
to  the  name,  an  argument  against  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  a  help  to  cold  combative  rnaterialists.  And 
materialism,  in  its  last  analysis  amounts  to  this — a  sprawl- 
ing puppy  and  a  royal  souled  sage — a  beefsteak,  a  prayer- 
book,  and  a  divine  soul,  are  all  the  same  originally — atoms 
— protoplastic  atoms,  adjusted  and  arranged  for  specific 
aims  and  ends  by  non-designed  and  non-intelligent  molec- 
ular force.  And  so  all  conscious  life — all  noble  aspira- 
tions for  eternal  unfoldment — begin  and  necessarily  end  in 
matter.  A  stream  cannot  rise  above  its  fountain.  Thank 
God  and  the  good  angels,  Spiritualism,  in  connection  with 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul    341 

/  the  rational  doctrine  of  preexistence,  saves  from  the  slough 
\of  despond. 

If  the  sum  total  constituting  J.  M.  Peebles  were  once  ab- 
solutely out  of  existence,  putting  him  into  existence  would 
be  equivalent  to  creating  something  from  nothing.  I  am  a 
firm  believer  in  the  soul's  eternal  preexistence.  The  theory 
is  the  rational  stronghold  of  the  soul's  immortality.  But 
preexistence  and  reincarnation  are  by  no  means  identical. 
They  are  not  predicated  on  the  same  philosophical  basis. 
And  any  writer  who  confounds  these  exhibits  either  his  ig- 
norance, or  his  pitiable  impudence. 

Of  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation  I  am  not  convinced — 
and  yet,  am  open  to  investigation  and  arguments  in  its  favor. 

Only  a  few  can  clearly  recall  events  and  experiences  oc- 
curring in  a  preexistent  state  of  being.  Many  did,  how- 
ever, in  the  more  meditative  past.  And  some  in  the  pres- 
ent can  do  this ;  and  their  testimony  upon  the  point  is  di- 
rect and  positive.     I  have  space  to  name  but  a  few. 

Judge  Boardman,  well  known  in  Wisconsin  for  many 
years  as  a  thoughtful,  influential  Spiritualist,  repeatedly  as- 
sured me  that  he  could  distinctly  remember  many  things 
that  transpired  in  his  preexistent  life. 

Judge  Elliott,  quite  as  much  of  a  mathematician  as  jurist, 
used  to  interest  his  friends  by  similar  direct  statements. 

Harold  Harring,  the  Polish  scholar,  author  and  personal 
friend  of  Dr.  Redfield,  the  New  York  physiognomist,  often 
affirmed  in  the  most  positive  manner,  that  he  could  remem- 
ber many  acts  and  events  occurring  in  his  preexistent  home 
in  the  heavens.  Others  testify  to  the  same  facts.  Preex- 
istence is  to  them  positive  knowledge.  Negative  testimony 
upon  this  subject  is  of  little  account.  That  blind  men  do 
not  see  the  sun  is  their  misfortune — nothing  more. 


342  Universal  Spiritualism 

Theodore  Parker  said  in  Music  Hall,  Boston,  in  1857: 
**  We  thank  thee,  oh,  Father,  for  this  atom  of  spirit,  a  par- 
ticle from  thine  own  flame  of  eternity  which  thou  hast 
lodged  in  this  clay."  .  ("  Bible  of  the  Ages,"  p.  322.) 

"A  strain  of  gentle  music,"  says  Charles  Dickens — 
**  or  the  rippling  of  water  in  a  silent  place,  or  the  odor  of  a 
flower,  or  even  the  mention  of  a  familiar  word,  will  some- 
times call  up  sudden  dim  remembrances  of  scenes  that 
never  were  in  this  life  ;  which  vanish  like  a  breath  ;  which 
some  brief  memory  of  a  happier  existence,  long  gone  by, 
seemed  to  have  awakened." 

Poets  in  their  more  inspired  moments  often  sing  of  pre- 
existence : 

"  I  have  dreamed 
Of  sinless  men  and  maids,  mated  in  heaven 
Ere  yet  their  souls  had  sought  for  beauteous  forms 
To  give  them  human  sense  and  residence." 

—Holland. 

"  And  in  the  spheral  chime  they  hstening  heard 

The  soul's  high  destiny,  virhich,  being  sunk 

Into  this  fleeting  life,  through  obscure  paths 

Must  wander,  fighting  still  a  Godlike  fight — 

Victor,  through  death  !  " 

— SCHELLING. 

"  Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting ; 
The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  star, 
Has  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 
And  cometh  from  afar, 
Not  in  entire  forgetfulness. 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory,  do  we  come 
From  God,  who  is  our  home." 

— Wordsworth. 


Nature  and  Preexistence  of  the  Soul     343 

As  a  fitting  close  to  this  essay,  I  quote  from  Schiller's 
"Mystery  of  Reminiscence,"  which  is  a  surpassing  poem 
of  the  soul's  recognition  : 

"  Were  once  our  beings  blent  and  intertwining 
And  for  that  glory  still  my  heart  is  pining ; 
Knew  we  the  light  of  some  refulgent  sun 
When  once  our  souls  were  one  ? 

"  Round  us  in  waters  of  delight  forever 
Ravishingly  flowed  the  heavenly  nectar  river  ; 
We  were  the  masters  of  the  seal  of  things 
And  where  truth  in  her  ever  living  springs 
Quivered  our  glancing  wings. 


"  Weep  for  the  godUke  life  we  lost  afar 
That  thou  and  I  its  scattered  fragments  are  : 
And  still  the  unconquered  yearning  we  retain, 
Sigh  to  renew  the  long  and  vanished  reign 
And  grow  divine  again.'' 

The  foregoing  was  placed  in  ^V.  J.  Colville's  hands  by 
Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles  March  6,  1906,  during  a  delightful  visit 
to  Battle  Creek  in  the  course  of  which  W.  J.  Colville  ex- 
pressed an  earnest  desire  to  embody  in  this  volume  some 
Statement  of  conviction  or  confession  of  faith  from  one  of 
the  most  highly  venerated,  widely  traveled,  richly  educated 
and  generous-hearted  Spiritualists  in  the  world.  The 
career  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles  is  known  and  honored  the  wide 
world  over.  At  the  ripe  age  of  eighty- five  years  we  found 
this  stalwart  veteran  hale,  hearty,  energetic  and  brimming 
over  with  good  will  and  resolute  determination  to  still  fur- 
ther continue  his  work  and  travel  in  the  interest  of  the 


344  Universal  Spiritualism 

great  cause  to  which  he  has  nobly  devoted  his  unusually 
long  and  singularly  useful  life.  Blessed  by  such  advocates 
as  the  veteran  "  Pilgrim,"  the  advocacy  of  Spiritualism  is 
indeed  secure. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

CONCLUSION—STRIKING  INCIDENTS  RE- 
LATED BY  WELL-KNOWN  WITNESSES 

In  submitting  to  our  readers  such  startling  incidents  as 
the  following  we  make  no  claims  whatever  for  the  narra- 
tives, which  are  simply  inserted  at  the  close  of  this  volume 
as  contributions  from  the  highly  respectable  narrators  who 
vouch  for  what  they  describe  over  their  respective  signa- 
tures.    All  honest  testimony  deserves  consideration. 

New  York  City,  March  jo,  igo6. 

Mr.  W,  J.   COLVILLE, 

Care  of  Banner  of  Light, 

Boston,  Mass. 

My  dear  Mr.  Colville : — Having  read  your  request  for 
authenticated  evidences  of  Spirit-communion  in  the 
Bajiner  of  Light  of  recent  date,  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
sending  you  herewith  a  few  of  our  many  experiences,  and 
to  assure  you  that  you  may  make  such  use  of  this  letter 
and  its  contents  as  you  may  see  fit,  using  my  name  in  full. 
Our  small  circle  awaits  with  eagerness  the  publication  of 
your  book,  to  which  we  have  had  the  pleasure  to  be  among 
the  earliest  subscribers. 

To  those  who  may  doubt  the  truth  of  the  statements 
made  below,  I  wish  to  say  that  if  they  will  apply  their 
time  and  money  to  the  investigation  of  these  and  kindred 
phenomena  with  as  much  liberality  as  they  devote  to 
purely  material  pleasures,  devoid  of  any  mental,  moral  or 
spiritual  advantage,  they  will  find  the  truth  of  the  purpose 
of  a  more  spiritual  than  material  life  and  truths  and 
marvels  much  greater  and  purer,  than  are  contained  in  any 

345 


34^  Universal  Spiritualism 

system  of  theology  or  philosophy.     I  simply  state  facts 
and  leave  it  to  the  reader  to  make  his  own  deductions. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  welfare  and  an  enthusiastic 
reception  of  your  book,  1  have  the  honor  to  remain, 
Yours  very  sincerely. 

Dr.  V.  VON  Unruh. 


Materialization 

Two  seances  were  held  at  our  own  house  with  two  well 
known  media.  There  being  present  our  little  circle, 
consisting  of  my  friend,  Dr.  H.  and  his  wife,  my  wife, 
myself  and  my  wife's  sister,  who  were  all  well  known  to 
the  media,  no  strange  influence  was  expected  to  disturb 
the  phenomena. 

The  remarkable  incidents  worthy  to  be  mentioned  were 
the  following :  I  was  called  in  front  of  the  improvised 
cabinet  by  the  medium  and  saw  his  wife  seated  in  a  chair 
inside  the  cabinet  in  a  deep  trance.  Around  her  feet 
there  were  two  distinct  accumulations  of  what  seemed  to 
be  lace,  interwoven  with  sparkling  lights,  and  presently 
growing  larger,  stouter  and  taller  until  suddenly  they  were 
lifted  up  as  if  by  invisible  hands,  and  assumed  the  shape 
of  a  toga,  within  which  I  beheld  at  the  same  moment  the 
shape  and  figure  of  a  man  and  a  woman,  who  then  stepped 
out  of  the  cabinet.  This  all  was  done  by  the  light  of  a 
small  red  photographer's  lamp,  which  we  always  use  dur- 
ing our  seances  and  which  gives  light  enough  to  dis- 
tinguish the  pattern  of  the  wall  paper  eight  feet  distant. 
Then  there  appeared  a  form,  strange  to  us,  who  swinging 
her  hands  and  arms  above  and  around  her  head  and 
occasionally  rubbing  the  palms  of  her  hands  together, 
began  in  this  way  to  weave  out  of  the  air  a  piece  of  lace, 


Conclusion  347 

increasing  in  size  every  moment  until  it  was  about  six  by 
eight  feet  square.  We  were  then  told  to  grasp  it  at  the 
margin  and  span  it  tightly  across  the  space  between  the 
cabinet  and  our  semicircle  in  front  of  it.  Then  slowly  we 
let  go  of  the  lace  which  the  spirit  gathered  in  in  the  same 
manner  as  described  before,  and  finally  showed  us  her 
empty  hands.  We  were  anxious  to  retain  a  piece  of  such 
lace  and  asked  for  it ;  but  were  told  that  such  lace  made 
out  of  the  air  would  soon  disintegrate,  yet  if  the  spirit 
were  given  some  silken  fabric  she  would  take  out  of  it 
one  thread  and  make  a  piece  of  lace  which  would  keep 
forever.  I  gave  the  spirit  my  necktie  from  which  she  took 
one  thread,  still  standing  outside  of  the  cabinet  and  began 
the  same  manipulations  as  before  and  after  about  thirty 
seconds  handed  back  my  necktie  within  which  was  en- 
closed a  piece  of  lace,  which  is  still  in  my  possession, 
mounted  between  two  slabs  of  glass.  That  there  are 
spirits  who  lack  the  politeness  of  better- bred  earth  folk 
was  also  shown  us  at  this  seance.  The  medium  outside 
of  the  cabinet  received  a  sudden  slap  in  the  face,  which  was 
audible  as  a  loud  handclap  all  over  the  room ;  we  did  not 
know  what  to  think  of  it  until  the  medium  said,  some  foolish 
spirit  had  slapped  him  in  the  face,  but  that  he  took  such 
things  good-naturedly,  because  resenting  had  done  no  good 
in  the  past  and  the  evil-doer  always  apologized  stante  pede  ; 
but  as  the  medium's  spectacles  had  been  broken  I  thought 
that  such  pranks  were  altogether  out  of  place.  Then  we 
witnessed  several  materializations  and  dematerializations 
outside  of  the  cabinet.  In  the  seance  room  then  appeared 
directly  at  our  feet  a  small  cloud  of  light,  dangling  and 
dancing  as  it  were,  on  the  carpet,  then  around  that  cloud 
the  luminous  and  sparkling  lace  and  the  two  uniting  fold- 


348  Universal  Spiritualism 

ing  over  a  form  in  less  than  half  a  minute.  After  greeting 
and  a  few  private  remarks  the  spirit,  claiming  to  be  that 
of  my  friend's  mother,  stepped  back  about  two  feet  and 
collapsed,  her  feet  disappearing  first  and  her  head  bowing 
down  forward  touching  the  carpet  after  which  all  disap- 
peared into  nothingness. — An  Indian,  "Little  Eagle  Eye" 
who  came  to  me  at  every  seance  told  me,  that  he  would 
like  to  have  a  pair  of  moccasins  to  take  them  to  spirit- 
land.  I  bought  a  pair  and  wrote  on  the  sole  of  each 
moccasin  ''Little  Eagle  Eye"  in  ink  which  at  writing 
showed  up  blue,  but  which  turned  black  after  a  day  or 
two.  I  gave  them  to  him  at  this  seance,  four  days  after. 
When  he  appeared  he  said  to  me,  ''What  you  got  for 
me?  Me  know,  me  see  you  write  my  name  on  them, 
blue  like  war  paint."  He  at  once  put  them  on,  and  when 
he  dematerialized  they  also  disappeared  and  I  have  never 
seen  them  since.  On  a  subsequent  occasion  I  asked  him 
what  he  had  done  with  the  moccasins,  he  replied  that  he 
had  taken  them  to  spirit-land. — There  also  appeared  for 
me  a  man,  wearing  a  high  cone-shaped  hat  which  was  so 
illuminated  as  to  dazzle  one.  He  said  he  was  "  Pardee," 
lived  under  the  second  Egyptian  dynasty  and  came  to  tell 
me  that  he  was  my  musical  guide.  In  this  connection  I 
wish  to  narrate  what  will  be  to  Non-Spiritualists  a  very 
remarkable  incident.  A  young  gentleman  acquaintance 
who  came  to  dine  with  us  one  evening,  fully  a  year  after 
the  aforementioned  seance,  and  for  whose  entertainment  I 
was  playing  the  piano,  turned  suddenly  to  me  and  said  : 
"Do  you  know  anybody  by  the  name  of  Pardee?  I  see 
him  standing  by  you  and  he  turns  to  me  and  says :  I  am 
Pardee, — and  then  he  points  with  his  hand  towards  you." 
We  had  not  seen  this  young  man  for  more  than  a  year  and 


Conclusion  349 

by  DO  possibility  could  he  have  known  of  the  aforemen- 
tioned seance  or  the  name  of  Pardee.  This  did  not 
astonish  us,  as  we  knew  the  young  man  to  be  a  clairvoyant. 
This  could  not  have  been  Telepathy,  for  the  young  man's 
description  of  the  appearance  of  the  spirit  agreed  with  our 
knowledge  of  the  materialized  spirit  Pardee. — I  must  re- 
late one  more  incident  that  happened  at  our  seance. 
"  Lucy,"  the  guide  of  the  medium  came  out  of  the  cabinet 
first  as  usual  and  then  disappeared  for  quite  a  long  while, 
perhaps  twenty  minutes.  When  she  appeared  again  she 
said,  "Friends,  I  must  tell  you  something  very  funny;  I 
have  just  been  over  to  Mr.  X's  house  in  Brooklyn,  where 
they  were  getting  ready  to  begin  their  seance ;  when  the 
medium  in  the  cabinet  was  about  to  seat  himself  in  his 
chair  he  tripped  and  fell  on  the  floor  and  all  the  sitters 
were  laughing."  Lucy  herself  seemed  to  be  quite  amused. 
The  next  morning  my  telephone  rang  and  the  unfortunate 
medium  asked  me  whether  Lucy  had  told  us  about  it  and 
I  answered  that  she  had.  He  then  said  that  his  fall  had 
been  a  quite  painful  one  and  that  he  had  difficulty  in 
walking. 

Apport 

For  the  benefit  of  those,  who  distrust  professional 
mediums,  I  will  give  an  account  of  one  of  our  own  family- 
sittings,  composed  of  myself  and  wife,  our  two  children, 
aged  ten  and  eleven,  and  my  friend  and  his  wife,  all  liv- 
ing under  the  same  roof.  On  December  31,  1905  (Sun- 
day), we  held  our  usual  weekly  seance.  Soon  after  the 
beginning  of  our  seance  I  felt  something  touching  my  hair 
and  mentioned  this.  A  few  minutes  after  my  forehead  was 
touched  by  a  small,  hard  object,  which  instantly  dropped 


350  Universal  Spiritualism 

on  the  glass  cover  of  the  music  box  in  front  of  me.  On 
examination  we  found  it  to  be  a  genuine  case  of  apport, 
the  object  being  a  solid  gold  cross  in  the  form  of  an 
Egyptian  crux  ansata,  surmounted  by  an  Ibis.  The 
dimensions  of  this  object  are  about  two  inches  in  height 
and  one  inch  in  breadth. 

V.  VON  Unruh. 
New  York  City^  March  lo,  igo6. 
8j7  Lexington  Ave. 

Dr.  von  Unruh  is  a  dentist  established  in  New  York 
many  years  with  a  large  and  influential  practice. 


A  Spirit  has  Her  Portrait  Painted 

When  my  book,  *'  In  the  World  Celestial,"  was  in  press 
I  met  the  heroine  of  it.  Pearl,  at  a  seance.  She  assured 
me  that  the  scenes  and  conditions  of  the  spirit  world,  as 
described* in  the  book  were  substantially  correct,  and  that 
the  story  as  a  whole,  is  true  to  life.  I  said  to  her,  ^'  My 
dear  Pearl,  I  should  very  much  like  to  have  a  portrait  of 
you  for  the  book."  She  replied,  '*  I  will  try  to  have  one 
painted  for  you."  She  did  not  succeed,  however,  in  get- 
ting a  satisfactory  likeness  until  the  fourth  edition  of  the 
book  was  about  to  be  issued.  On  the  evening  of  Jan- 
uary 25,  1905,  Pearl  met  me  at  a  trumpet  seance 
and  made  an  appointment  with  me  to  meet  her  at  the 
home  of  two  sisters,  famous  psychics,  the  next  day,  where 
she  felt  confident  we  would  succeed  in  getting  a  portrait 
of  her.  My  wife  went  with  me  to  that  appointment,  and 
will  sustain  the  statement  of  facts  I  herewith  submit. 
The   two   sisters  and  ourselves  entered  the  seance  room, 


Conclusion  3^  i 

at  three  o'clock  m  the  afternoon.  I  selected  from  a 
number  of  others  an  artist's  canvas  on  a  stretcher,  twenty 
by  twenty-four  inches,  which  was  placed  in  front  of  a 
south  window,  through  which  the  sun  was  shining.  One 
of  the  sisters  seated  herself  on  one  side,  and  the  other  on 
the  other  side  of  the  window,  and  each  grasped  the  edge 
of  the  stretcher  next  to  her  with  one  hand.  My  wife  and 
I  seated  ourselves  immediately  in  front,  and  within  easy 
reach  of  the  canvas.  We  kept  our  eyes  steadily  fixed 
upon  it  to  carefully  witness  any  phenomena  that  might  be 
presented.  In  about  three  minutes  a  cloud  passed  over 
the  canvas  and  settled  upon  it,  forming  a  pearl  gray 
background  for  the  picture.  A  few  minutes  later  the 
outlines  of  a  form  appeared.  This  grew  gradually  more 
distinct  until  in  about  forty  minutes,  from  the  time  we 
had  taken  our  seats,  the  picture  was  complete.  It  was  the 
portrait  of  a  beautiful  woman,  in  the  full  bloom  of  mature 
womanhood,  with  golden  hair  and  blue  eyes,  a  perfect 
blonde.  I  had  known  Pearl  when  she  was  a  girl,  and 
this  portrait  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  her  as  I 
remember  her.  I  have  met  her  at  seances  since,  and  she 
has  assured  me  that  the  portrait  is  a  correct  likeness  of 
her,  as  she  appears  in  her  present  development.  I  had 
her  picture  reproduced  for  the  fourth  edition  of  my  book, 
in  the  style  known  as  photogravure,  a  new  process  by 
which  photographs  are  made  direct  from  the  negative 
on  white  plate  paper. 

This  experience  settles  the  matter,  with  us,  that  spirits 
can  have  their  portraits  painted,  by  some  occult  process 
which  is  beyond  the  ken  of  mortal  artists.  Art  critics 
who  have  seen  this  picture  pronounce  it  above  criticism 
as  a  work  of  art,  and  they  are  puzzled  to  know  by  what 


35^  Universal  Spiritualism 

process    it   could   have  been  produced,   as  it  is  different 
from  any  style  of  painting  with  which  they  are  familiar. 

T.  A.  Bland. 

Dr.  Bland  is  Secretary  of  the  American  Medical  Union. 
Address,  231  Hayne  Ave.,  Chicago. 

Oneonta,  JV.  Y.,  March  gth,  igo6. 
The  soul-inspiring  truths  of  Spirit-return,  wafted  on 
the  wings  of  love  after  the  transition  of  my  dearly  beloved 
mother  Julia  Pond,  have  been  a  well-spring  of  joy  to  us. 
Being  isolated  from  all  people  of  this  cult,  and  never 
having  been  in  sympathy  with  the  thought  of  Spirit- 
return,  not  having  read  any  literature  of  that  nature ;  my 
experiences  have  been  phenomenal,  first  conceiving  it 
imaginary,  subsequently  developing  clairaudience.  We 
feared  dementia,  not  consulting  a  physician,  but  pros- 
trated for  several  weeks,  after  which  unconscious  entrance- 
ment,  when  my  husband  apprehended  death  (as  we  inter- 
preted transition).  After  a  hard  struggle,  the  vision  was 
made  clear,  highly  developed  instructors  were  brought, 
embellishing  me  with  gifts  which  I  of  myself  have  never 
sought.  Singing  in  all  voices  where  mortal  voice  of  its 
own  volition  has  never  reached.  Instruments  coming 
through  the  vocal  organs,  also  inspired  writings.  These 
manifestations  proving  to  us  the  continuity  of  life,  and 
the  thin  veil  between  the  two  worlds  interpenetrating 
each  other's  lives  like  one  great  family.  This  innovation 
in  our  lives  has  been  an  education  as  well  as  inspiration 
to  reach  out  after  the  aggrandizing  truths  which  are 
given  us  through  the  realm  of  Spirit. 

Rose  B.  Helm. 


.1  O  n'  Q  Q 


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